This is War
by Vicarious Vanity
Summary: Six months after the destruction of the Alpha Mass Relay, the galaxy faces death incarnate. A novelization of the events of Mass Effect 3 with certain changes made. Rated for harsh language, violence and sexual content.
1. Incarceration

**Disclaimer: Most of the characters and all of the locations, technologies, concepts, etc that appear in this story are property of Bioware/EA.**

* * *

 **This is War**

Sweat ran down ex-Commander Jane Anastasia Shepard's temple. She breathed outward as she brought her arm to her front, holding the other folded against her side with a closed fist. In a sudden movement, she thrust her clenched fist into the air in front of her. Wisps of dark energy appeared before her, congealing into a solid mass as it propelled itself through the air at blinding speeds to smash into the dummy target across the gym. Keeping stance, knees spread and feet firmly planted, Jane punched at the air twice, each thrust punctuated by more biotic throws, before twisting around to bring both fists forward and sending a third, more powerful biotic blast outward. The dummy took the first two hits before the third tore it from its hinges on the floor completely, forcing the beaten target to the ground with a loud thud. Shepard smirked as she brought a booted foot upward directly into the air and snapped her leg down in a vicious axe kick, forming another powerful blast, precise enough to decapitate the fallen dummy target in a display of lethal force. The gymnasium was empty save for her, but the ex-Commander knew there were eyes watching her every movement behind the many cameras that littered the grounds of the Alliance's Vancouver Headquarters. She may as well give them a show.

Six months had passed after her flawless victory over the Collectors. Six months after she and her crew had cut all ties with Cerberus. Six months after the destruction of the Alpha Mass Relay and literally wiping the Bahak system off of the galactic map. Six months after she had snuffed out the lives of three-hundred-four-thousand-nine-hundred-forty-two Batarians.

She knew why she did it. It was an act of desperation, to delay the arrival of the enemy. She told herself, again and again and _again_. She had been through this over and over, ran her own simulations of the situation in her mind for _days_ at a time. Doctor Kenson left her no other course of action. It was either allow _them_ to pour through right behind the Alliance or keep them at bay at least for a time.

That was what Shepard had told herself, anyway. Throughout the entire base she could hear the silent accusations hounding her every step as she was escorted to her holding quarters upon her arrival back to Earth. She saw the glaring eyes judging her. She knew what everyone was thinking after hearing the news.

'The Savior of Elysium actually went rouge.'

Jane closed her eyes and brushed a hand through her maroon tresses. She _hated_ that name. The fools who had branded her with that title didn't know what she went through on Elysium. They didn't _know_. How could they? The media whitewashed the event, used it to paint her as the Alliance's fucking _poster girl_. They didn't know what she _did_. What her mind _refuses_ to forget after all these years.

She huffed in frustration and deemed this line of thought exasperating and pointless. Grabbing a towel from the bench beside her, Shepard wiped the sweat from her neck and forehead, fanning out the white Alliance tank top that adorned her upper body. Jane sat and removed her boots and socks, allowing her toes to stretch as she sank down to the padded mat. She crossed her legs and began weaving her hands in intricate patterns, forming a sphere of dark energy. Closing her eyes, Jane allowed her mind to wander to whatever topic it desired. Of course -being herself, - Shepard's mind latched on to one of the more pleasant thoughts that drifted through.

 _Shepard…_

Jane smiled to herself. What had once been an assault on her sanity over six months ago was now a pleasant reminder that she had someone waiting for her once all of this was over. Flashes of ocean-blue eyes and lilac scents filled her mind. Cobalt skin, smooth as silk occupied her awareness as she saw her love behind her eyelids.

 _Goddess… Shepard…_

A familiar heat settled itself within her abdomen as her thoughts took on a sensual tone. That beautiful blue face scrunched up as her body writhed in pleasure. She could practically _feel_ the wetness of her love on her fingers. Shepard smiled serenely as her eyes opened and took notice of the clock on the wall. It was near midnight. Jane sighed and dissipated the orb. Slipping back into her boots, Jane rose up from the floor to walk to the locked gymnasium door. After tapping the holographic pad on the nearby wall, the door unlocked itself and opened to reveal an Alliance guard unit. The captain came forward with a pair of handcuffs.

"You know the drill Comman- Shepard."

Jane sneered at the guard captain before turning around and placing her hands behind her head, waiting patiently for him to snap the cuffs on. She couldn't help but notice the mirthful snicker a certain tattooed Lieutenant made behind the captain as he observed the headless dummy on the gym floor.

After returning to the Sol System, Shepard had immediately been relieved of her rank and taken into custody once her identification had been confirmed upon arriving on Earth.

She had submitted herself willingly. Jane was under no delusions about her situation. She had committed genocide of an entire colony planet and for good or ill; she was a murderer of over three hundred thousand souls. There was no running from that fact no matter how anyone looked at it. If anything, she knew she'd be safe in Alliance space; the Batarian Hegemony would be out for her head and as much Human blood as possible. War was inevitable, but Jane knew the real threat would be coming in due time.

Shepard was escorted through the base again and back to her holding quarters. Once again, she saw the accusing stares and heard the whispers behind her back. They all knew _who_ she was and _what_ she could do. They knew handcuffs would do all of nothing if she truly wished to escape and for the first time in her life, Jane was _feared_ by her own people. Of course, they had nothing to worry themselves about where she was concerned but that didn't make the feeling any less painful.

A dark, malicious corner of her mind hissed at the situation; she had given life and limb and _more_ for these people. All Jane had ever done was put everyone before herself, yet all she got in return were the _glares_ and the _whispers_.

Pushing the spiteful thoughts aside, Jane rubbed at her wrists after the cuffs came off and was locked into her personal custody lodging. It was a comfortable enough arrangement: a single bedroom apartment on-base with a bathroom and a view of Vancouver, albeit, the window was reinforced, seven inch thick, shield protected glass. It was still a cage, but at least it was a gilded cage.

She also knew that Admiral Steven Hackett and the newly appointed Admiral David Anderson had been paramount to her being kept out of solitary confinement in the highest security prison on Earth. They had pushed for her trial to be delayed as much as possible and she had been utterly grateful for their help and support. They were two of the few people she could trust in this matter. Besides, she was more than positive that the Shadow Broker would find it _highly_ unacceptable to allow Shepard to face the noose, no matter how much Jane would protest.

The thought of her lover brought another soft smile to her face as she made her way to the clothing cabinet on the far wall next to the large window. Fishing out a new pair of sweats and a tee –both Alliance property, - Shepard kicked off her boots and padded over to the bathroom, preparing for a shower.

Removing the sweat laden clothes, Jane entered the shower and turned the faucet, stretching her body as she felt the hot water begin cascading down her front. Calloused hands reached for the bottle of body wash and began lathering the substance into soapy foam to begin spreading over her toned, lightly freckled frame. Jane allowed her mind to wander yet again, picking up where she left off in the gym.

 _Oh… Shepard…_

Jane's bottom lip was captured between her pearly teeth as her hands made their pathways down her body, cupping a breast and groping at her abdominal muscles. Breath picked up as she took a pert nipple between her thumb and forefinger, rolling the quickly hardening peak between them while her other hand snaked its way downward to cup her already molten core.

 _More… Please…_

Shepard imagined her Asari's lovely body, imagined her own hands to be her lover's. The thought sent an electrifying thrill through her spine. Even though they had been apart for only six months, it had felt like a lifetime since she'd held the wonderfully warm figure of _Liara T'soni_ against her body. The images in her head had helped her needs, but she knew that eventually she would require a more _direct_ solution to her frustration.

Being united with Liara during and after the ghastly Collector ordeal had been one of the greatest salves to her aching soul that she had ever experienced, however brief it may have been. Having her beloved Asari in her mind again had been _glorious_. Feeling the warmth radiating off of her lover's consciousness as it thrashed within and around her own was something she would treasure for as long as her body and mind still functioned.

Jane's hips bucked upward into the stream of sweltering water, desperate to gain more friction against the throbbing bud between her thighs. The ex-Commander's chest heaved as she drove herself into a sexual frenzy, breath escaping her mouth in high pitched moans.

 _Shepard…_

She was almost there. Jane's legs were shaking so badly she couldn't hold herself upright and had to brace her shoulder on the shower wall next to her. Her other hand wound its way down to join its twin, inserting two fingers inside herself as she worked her painfully stimulated core to its breaking point.

 _Shepard…!_

She could see Liara in her mind. Her lover. Her bond-mate. Her _baby_. Just the thought of those perfect blue eyes staring up at her, needy and desperate and _wanting_ made her toes curl. She felt the familiar tightening in the pit of her stomach. She was _close._ So _very close_.

 _Jane!_

"Liara!"

With a shuddering breath, Shepard came. _Hard_. Her vision was filled with white light as her mind was flooded and overwhelmed with blurred images of blue eyes and soft skin as each muscle in her body tensed and relaxed in erratic euphoria. Her biotics instinctively flared outward as the evidence of her orgasm ran down her quaking thighs in steady streams and onto the shower floor to be washed away by the warm water. Jane's legs buckled and she soon crumbled to the floor in a quivering heap of bronze hair and freckled skin.

"Ahh…"

Shivering, Shepard raised herself to her feet using the wall beside her. Resting her back on the tiled wall, Jane simply stood there, basking in her afterglow and allowing the rushing water to run along her form with a contented smile gracing her face.

Rinsing off and stepping (stumbling) out of the shower, Jane quickly dried off and slipped into the loose fitting sweats, too drained to even attempt to put the tee-shirt on. Jane knew there were plenty of hidden cameras within her quarters but she simply didn't care. She'd never held any insecurity about her body. She stalked back out to the bedroom and flopped herself onto the bed.

Shepard turned her head to look out of the large window at her bedside. The night sky of Vancouver greeted her emerald eyes. Even given how relaxed she felt at this moment, mind quietly humming with afterimages of her lover, she just couldn't force the sinking feeling churning in her gut to go away, a sensation that turned her stomach into a lead weight. The feeling stayed with her even during her descent into sleep.

The morning was coming, and something was coming with it.

* * *

 **Being a relatively erratic writer, I will be updating this story as I see fit. Expect new chapters anywhere between, within, around and beyond two to six days. This will be a relatively long story, as I will attempt to depict as much of the game as I desire.**

 **In the future chapters I will be using The Alliance Fleet officer rank structure found here:** **masseffectfanfiction(period)wikia(period)com/wiki/Category:Alliance_Fleet**

 **Thank you for reading and I hope to have you join me again soon.**


	2. Archives

**Disclaimer: Most of the characters and all of the locations, technologies, concepts, etc that appear in this story are property of Bioware/EA.**

* * *

 **This is War**

Liara sipped the coffee her appointed assistant had been so kind to bring her. She had always had a taste for Human gastronomy. The many varieties of foods and drinks they could offer were staggering, and coffee was up there as one of her favorites.

She nursed the cup in one hand while the other held onto a small data pad. Liara poured over the most recent recordings and translations siphoned from the Prothean information server housed in the Mars archives. Admiral Hackett himself had asked her –she didn't even know _how_ the man was able to track down her current personal e-mail address, she had subsequently spent a week looking for any information leaks in her network- to come in to cooperate and assist with mining out the vast stores of data held within the device. They had even given Liara her own office and personal assistant within the Archives.

She knew Hackett believed in Shepard's warnings of things to come. He had subtly made himself clear that something _needed_ to be done, as quickly as possible. She had understood and gladly requested to be brought up to speed during her travel to the Sol System after throwing off the assassins Cerberus had sent for her.

The Shadow Broker's ship was a marvel of ancient engineering, it could almost be considered an antique, but the vessel was never intended for hiding for long periods of time, curiously contradictory to Liara's and the previous Broker's occupation. Cerberus had quickly found her just weeks after the destruction of the Alpha Relay. She and Feron had prepared for this eventuality by rigging the ship with countless explosives and sending it on a collision course with the largest nearby Cerberus cruiser to come out of FTL travel. The duo watched from a more stealth-oriented shuttle while the ships crashed into each other to explode in an outstanding display of either genius or foolishness. Afterward, she had bid farewell to Feron on Illium and continued onward to the Sol System.

After several months of study and analysis of the server, she happened upon something that may have been of some use: the conceptual schematics of a weapon of some kind, able to put out massive amounts of energy. She would relay her findings to Hackett once she figured out more about the strange device; it was remarkable the amount of data the Protheans could pack into their technology. Even years after being unearthed, they could still extract new information from them.

However, even when she'd had obtained what had been her dream of studying a working data server in extreme detail, she knew why her thoughts were not truly on her work here. The reason she took up residence in the Mars Archives was currently being held in custody on Earth.

The former Archaeologist had _begged_ Shepard to reconsider her actions in turning herself in. She was the _Shadow Broker_. She could make Jane disappear into thin air if she wanted to, but she knew her Commander. Liara _knew_ her Jane would face the consequences head-on rather than run away.

The look Shepard had given her during her brief visit after Bahak's annihilation had torn her heart to pieces. Shepard had _never_ experienced the weight of choosing to sacrifice hundreds of _thousands_ of lives. It was a decision that no one should ever have to make, a decision that would break any other person. Jane had felt better about the _Skyllian blitz_ than the destruction of the Alpha Relay.

But she _knew_ her Jane. She would take the weight gladly, without hesitation, without complaint. That's just who Commander Shepard _is_.

Finishing her observations of the files, Liara set the pad down and took another sip of the piping-hot liquid before remotely locking her door and turning her chair to view the windows behind her desk. She brought her omni-tool up to bring a number of holographic video feeds to life before her, each laying themselves upon the windows. Every screen before her depicted various portions of the Alliance's Vancouver headquarters. She'd placed many of her own operatives within the numerous governmental and military infrastructures of the galaxy including the Human System's Alliance. They had easily gained her codes to access security feeds and information servers of every major base on nearly every Council race home world. She had top level access to nearly every secure secret known to not only Human-kind, but the galactic community as a whole.

And here she was, spying on her Human bond-mate -although, she wouldn't really consider this spying. As far as she was concerned, she was simply checking in on Shepard to make sure she was alright. She was aware of Admiral Hackett's and Anderson's deferring tactics to stave off Jane's official trial as much as possible but she would be _damned_ if she was going to let _her_ Jane get locked away into some high security prison -or _executed-_ and then washed away and forgotten as if she were some stain on the cloth of history. Shepard would no doubt be angry with her but Liara would much rather have the Commander be angry and _alive_ than calm and _dead_.

Suppressing a shudder at the thought of Jane dying (a thought she had been oh so frighteningly familiar with), Liara quickly located her bronze-haired quarry. The Human was quietly asleep in her holding quarters. Topless. Liara sputtered her coffee, and blushed a deep purple as she saw Jane's perky mounds rise and fall with each steady breath. The former Archaeologist knew it was close to seven A.M. on earth and that Shepard would probably be asleep, but she hadn't been expecting the sight before her. After a quick turn to the locked door behind her, she opened the intercom connecting her desk to her assistant's.

"Doctor Kinley, please redirect all of my calls to voicemail and have any issues filed down for later. I'll be taking a small break in my office."

"With pleasure, Doctor T'soni. Would you like a refill on your coffee? How is it? I didn't put too much sugar in it, did I? I tend to do that…"

Her assistant, Doctor Maria Kinley was an accomplished anthropologist and a knowledgeable historical researcher on all things alien to Humans. She had been a joy to work with while discussing the Prothean server. Initially, she didn't know most of the staff stationed within the Mars Archives, but she could appreciate a good conversation on the studies of ancient alien civilizations with the young Doctor and her associates within the facility any day of the week. She had a problem with rambling off at times, but Liara had found it more endearing than an annoyance.

She had recognized the way Maria had looked at her when she thought Liara wouldn't notice. The way she, herself had once looked at Commander Shepard during her first few weeks on the SSV Normandy.

Kinley harbored affection for the former Archaeologist. She had stated that she'd read Liara's dissertation on the Protheans and her many articles about Prothean cultures numerous times over. It was a topic they shared great interest in and had talked well into the mornings about with eagerness. She'd admired Liara for years and Liara couldn't help but feel flattered. The Doctor was relatively good looking, dark chestnut hair falling to petite shoulders with an evenly tanned complexion and dazzling hazel eyes.

After a heartfelt (and somewhat nervous) confession several months after their meeting, Liara had turned Maria's affections down. She was already taken, after all. Doctor Kinley had been crestfallen, but smiled and hoped that they would still remain friends. Liara returned the smile and agreed; she had greatly enjoyed their discussions and valued Kinley's opinions as a colleague. They'd experienced a comfortable enough relationship as friends as the months passed by.

Liara couldn't suppress the grin on her face as she responded.

"The coffee is wonderful, thank you very much for making it."

"O-oh! Well… great! Thanks for… um, liking it! Anyway, enjoy your break; let me know if you need anything, Doctor T'soni."

Liara closed the intercom with a small chuckle. Had she not been already in a relationship, she would have considered the young Human's offer, given the fact that she would've most likely been a wildly different person had she not met Jane (she doubted she would even still be _alive_ if it wasn't for Jane).

The former Archaeologist brought her attention back to the screen; Liara had to wonder what had led to her Commander's half naked form, sprawled out on the bed. If she knew Jane, she could already take a guess. Liara placed her cup on the desk behind her and began scrolling through the previously recorded video footage of Shepard's room. She saw the ex-Commander make her way to her clothing cabinet and then walk to the bathroom.

Shifting to the cameras placed within the ivory tiled room, Liara saw the recorded Jane strip herself and step into the shower. Liara could hear running water hitting tile and after several moments she could hear soft panting and quiet groaning. She had to shake her head, smiling widely. Jane could sometimes be a 'horn-dog' as Humans call it.

She understood that everyone, within every species engaged in their own forms of masturbation, but she knew Shepard was particularly… enthusiastic about it. The many times she had walked in on her Commander pleasuring herself aboard the SSV Normandy (after which, she would chastise the Human and demand the door at least be locked, to which Shepard chuckled and suggested that maybe she only left it unlocked for _her_ ) and the many times she had tuned in to check on Jane aboard the Normandy SR2 to find similar sights were a sufficient enough indicator. Not to mention the many times she had checked in on the currently imprisoned ex-Commander to see her lover in the same position she saw now.

Liara was acutely aware that Jane's libido was something she had considered outstandingly superb (not that she'd had much experience with sexual partners before and after meeting Jane). In the months after Saren's and Sovereign's defeat, her Commander had an almost insatiable air around her. She had fond memories of being accosted many times aboard the original Normandy: pulled aside into a storage closet, feeling lips upon the soft, sensitive folds along the base of her neck while she worked at her desk, being carried –sometimes literally- to the captain's quarters for a private meeting.

Having impromptu shower 'quickies' (another clever Human term she had giggled at when Shepard explained it to her). Speaking of showers; Liara switched viewpoints to inside the shower stall to watch Shepard –her Jane- in all her beautiful, freckled, muscle toned glory. _Goddess_ , how she wished she could be in there with her lover.

She had waited two years to be reunited with Jane again. During the ex-Commander's mission against the Collectors, Jane had made several visits to her base orbiting Hagalaz. They had used the downtime between missions to get to know one another again, although, in reality it was Jane who was getting to know Liara again. The two years of pain and suffering Liara had endured was only a few weeks to Jane. Her Commander was still the same woman she knew and fell in love with. The former archaeologist was even paranoid that she had changed too much for Jane. That she was no longer the Asari her lover knew her as. The thoughts were quickly banished from her mind to be replaced with the many wonderfully pleasant emotions and reassurances provided by Shepard.

 _You're still my beautiful blue archaeologist…_

Liara had to hum in pleasure at the delightful memory. How could she have such a magnificent individual be so infatuated with her? Liara's attention was caught again by a sharp moan from the holographic monitor before her. She could feel the building pressure in her lower abdominals and knew she would need to relieve it _somehow_.

Stealing another glance at the locked door behind her, Liara removed her gloves and began undoing the buckles and buttons along her white lab coat while her eyes were glued to the display. Shepard was slouched over; one hand cupping a breast while another was between her thighs, moving gently to her own rhythm. Liara's own hands made their way inside the padded coat she wore and made contact with smooth skin. How Liara had _wished_ her hands could be the familiar, rough hands of her beloved Jane.

She had waited two years, and now she would have to wait longer. Liara felt the more selfish parts of herself wail in anger. Jane was _hers_. She should order her operatives to stage a break out right now and bring Shepard to her where Liara could steal her away and love her forever. The thought of being _alone_ with Shepard, no guards, no crew-mates, no cameras and no missions for an incalculable amount of time sent a tingling shock through her body.

 _Fuck… Liara…_

The Shadow Broker's mouth fell open in a silent moan as she saw the recorded Jane slump over to the side, shoulder hitting the wall as both her hands went to her crotch. Liara's hand moved downward within her clothes to grope the burning, moist heat of her azure. Her other hand flicked a dark blue peak upon her breast and she simply couldn't suppress a moan from the sensation.

 _Liara…_

Her hand worked faster, slipping a finger within her quivering azure as she began to roll her hips in her seat, wetness coating her hand quickly. She could see the muscles in Shepard's stomach and thighs contract themselves and she knew her lover was close as Jane's hands moved harder and faster. After several moments, Liara could feel her incoming orgasm as her fingers brought her to the edge of bliss. After this entire ordeal was over with, she had vowed to herself to take Shepard away to a distant planet and spend however much time she could with her Jane, doing _whatever_ their hearts had desired. At last, Shepard reached her crescendo on the screen and Liara knew she wasn't far behind.

 _Liara…!_

'Liara!'

"Excuse me, Doctor T'soni?"

Liara could only growl in frustration as she turned to look at her personal VI assistant, Glyph. The little holographic sphere had been of great help in rebuilding and maintaining her network of information. However, no matter how useful it could be, its current presence beside her was infuriating as she took her hand out of her pants and paused the video footage (which had stopped on a provocative scene of the Commander whimpering in orgasmic ecstasy).

"What is it, Glyph? I'm in the middle of… a-an important analysis session."

"I apologize, Doctor, I came to inform you that many communication channels on-base have suddenly been cut off."

Liara turned fully to Glyph, surprised and confused.

"What? Why?"

"I do not know, Doctor. It may also be of note to mention that there are over a dozen unidentified units of armed soldiers moving throughout the base. Scans indicate they are not of the original guard postings, nor are they even associated with the Alliance military."

Liara turned back to the screens, swiping them away (she would save that particular video to her personal archive once she figured out what was going on) to bring up security feeds of the facility. The soldiers mentioned were indeed weaving through the Alliance base, killing the support staff and the guard units they encountered with ease. There should have been alarms blaring the moment their ships came into range. Someone had to have sabotaged the detection systems.

She held up her omni-tool to pause one particular feed and enlarged the image of one enemy unit. She had instantly recognized the symbol adorning the unit's armored shoulders.

"Cerberus… what are they-"

Liara couldn't finish her thought aloud before she heard gunfire right outside her office. The Shadow Broker brought up the video display of the camera outside her door. An enemy group comprised of over half-a-dozen soldiers in white and yellow combat armor approached the door to her office. Not a moment later, she could hear the searing noise of an electric blowtorch carve its way through reinforced steel. She activated her omni-tool again to trigger the fire suppression systems in her office, shrouding the room in a thick fog of vapor as she retrieved an oxygen mask and her pistol from underneath the desk. They would be through the door soon, either to capture her or kill her. Liara adjusted her suit and retrieved her gloves.

She planned on letting _neither_ happen.

* * *

"Alright! The target is through that door! Use extreme caution, target is an Asari, REPEAT, target is an Asari! Expect biotics and small arms fire! Formation seven around the door, orders are to retrieve ALL information regarding Protheans, target is to be eliminated and her omni-tool is to be recovered, MOVE!"

The Cerberus Centurion captain barked out orders to his squad. Two assault troopers positioned themselves at the door and began cutting through with the torch. Two more troops stood behind them, guns trained at the door. Another rested before the desk to the right while a Guardian held his shield directly ahead of the Centurion. After a few seconds, the door's locking mechanism broke down and the troops began planting explosives.

"C7 is a go, REPEAT, C7 is a GO!"

The two at the door braced themselves as the explosive devices blew the door open, bringing the slab of burning metal down before them. Once the door was down, every soldier began firing into the cloudy office, emptying their clips into the room. Reloading, the first assault troop signaled the rest of the squad and took one step over the fallen door.

A small, purple orb floated through the air from the fume filled room to the center of the unit's formation.

" **MOVE!** "

The orb expanded rapidly into a swirling singularity. Each soldier was pulled into the vortex except for the Centurion, who watched in horror as a biotic warp blast launched forward from the office to collide with the floating Guardian.

The unstable biotic explosion that occurred was so powerful it had sent the other soldiers flying at fatal speeds to the walls around them, while separating the Guardian's torso from his legs. Blood spattered the Centurion's armor as his shields fell from the force of the explosion. He tried to raise his rifle too late as his body was propelled forward into the misted room by a pull field. His momentum stopped when he reached a rising figure in the fog, hand outstretched as she biotically held him in the air.

"Why is Cerberus here? What do you want with the Archives?"

Liara's voice boomed throughout the office in a tone that made the Centurion nervous. He was frightened, but he knew where his loyalties lied.

"We're here for the advancement of Humanity, Asari bitc-"

The captain couldn't finish his sentence. Liara clenched her fist and forced his helmeted head to touch the bottoms of his boots, snapping his spine with an audible, sickening crack and killing him instantly. Liara tossed the dead Cerberus captain aside; his broken body hitting the floor with a loud, metallic thump.

Liara exited the blown-out door, pistol ready for any more soldiers. Seeing none, she relaxed her posture slightly and took her time to think. Cerberus wasn't brash enough to attack an Alliance outpost so close to Earth without good reason. It would be an act of war. There had to be only two options: This Cerberus battalion was a rouge faction, or they knew something was here, within the server. Could they be after…?

Quiet coughing caught Liara's attention and she instinctively raised her pistol to point at her side, only to lower it again at the wounded Human on the floor behind the desk.

"Maria!"

Liara bent down to Doctor Kinley's sitting form. Blood was dripping from her mouth and soaked her clothes. Running a scan with her omni-tool, Liara saw Kinley's wounds: multiple gunshots to the torso, resulting in many punctures to her lungs. Blood was quickly filling them and Liara knew the Doctor didn't have much time.

Looking to her side, Liara saw Maria's own pistol on the ground with several ejected thermal clips. She had tried to retaliate instead of hiding. She tried to _protect_ her. Maria coughed up more blood as she spoke in a raspy voice so unlike what she was used to hearing from the young anthropologist.

"D-doctor T'soni…"

"Shh, don't speak. You… you need medical attention, immediately."

Kinley laughed roughly, causing more blood to sputter from her lips as she coughed.

"I… I don't think that would be wise. You –cough- you need to get somewhere s-safe... I'm done…"

Liara looked in despair at Maria's bloodstained face. She felt something push into her hand and saw the pistol. The Shadow Broker grabbed it, stowing it within her coat and took the Doctor's –her _friend's_ \- hand, squeezing gently.

"I –cough, cough- … It was… wonderful to finally know you… Doc –cough, cough- Doctor…"

"Enough… I know, Maria…"

Liara lifted herself to place a long, soft kiss on Kinley's forehead. Maria's hand went limp within her grasp. Pulling back, she saw the Human's eyes glazed over and darkened, mouth pulled into a comforted, bloody smile.

"… I pray for the Goddess to meet you with open arms."

The former Archaeologist manually closed her friend's eyelids with her fingers as she bowed her head.

"Zeta squad failed to check in! Omega squad is moving in to investigate last known position, over!"

Liara felt her biotics flare angrily. These men would pay. She rose from her knelt position over Kinley's body and turned to the hallway. These men dared to enter this facility and interrupt work that could save the galaxy.

Boots hitting metal flooring could be heard from around the corner. These men had the _audacity_ to hunt her and kill her friends. _None_ of these people deserved to die. She saw a black helmet peek out from the corner

"The Asari took out Zeta! Omega moving in to eliminate -"

An immensely powerful biotic blast shot out at lightning fast speeds, removing the trooper's head from his body in an instant. The rest of the unit behind him backed up in fear as the soldier's body crumbled to the floor. The Shadow Broker strode around the corner, a vicious glare on her face and a murderous intent behind swirling indigo eyes.

"Take her down -!"

The next soldier was biotically lifted up. He didn't even have time to gasp as his helmet caved in, crushing his head within it, and was thrown aside hard enough to create a large dent in the bulkhead. Liara continued her advance.

These men would _pay_.


	3. Arrival

**Disclaimer: Most of the characters and all of the locations, technologies, concepts, etc that appear in this story are property of Bioware/EA.**

* * *

 **This is War**

"No cuffs this time, Vega?"

Jane was led through the Vancouver headquarters by Lieutenant James Vega. A jar head at a glance, but she knew him well enough to be familiarized. He would often be in the guard unit assigned to her when she would travel about the base. After a relatively awkward wake up call and waiting for her putting on a proper uniform, James escorted Shepard through throngs of Alliance personnel.

"Nope, brass just told me to come get you. They knew you wouldn't need 'em anyway."

The base itself was a hive of activity unlike anything she had seen since her first week. Officers and staff quickly making their way through the headquarters, scattered conversations of confusion in abundance. Something was happening and the sinking pit in her stomach grew with each step.

"What's going on? Everyone looks nervous."

James turned to glance at her while they walked.

"No idea, like I said, just told to bring you in to see 'em."

"What's that they say? A good soldier follows orders without question?"

The Lieutenant grinned at the wry joke.

"Yeah, they also say a good soldier knows to trust his political group. I'm pretty sure half of H.Q. is failing in that regard."

The relationship between Jane and Vega had evolved with time while within the base. Shepard had a fondness for those who could make her laugh. She'd seen enough to know to cherish every moment of levity that had saw fit to present itself.

After a short trip, Shepard had to smile as she recognized a familiar face.

"Anderson!"

Admiral David Anderson approached the duo, dress blues and all. A small smirk graced his face as he came up to Jane. James saluted while the Alliance Admiral vigorously shook Jane's hand and began walking with them. David had been the closest thing to a father figure Jane had ever had. Being the daughter of two military career soldiers, she got to see her mother few times while growing up. She got to see her father even less. He simply… wasn't there. The news Shepard had received of her father going M.I.A. was of little consequence to her. As her former commanding officer and longtime friend, Anderson had Shepard's undying respect and loyalty. Without him, she might not be the woman she was now.

"Shepard, looking a little too comfortable there. Life planet-side not your style?"

"A warm bed and warmer food can have that effect. I've been keeping myself busy, though."

"Can't say the training dummies have been enjoying your stay."

James' quip brought a smirk to Shepard's face

"I'll write them an apology letter. Anyway, what's happening? Everyone looks like they're anxious for something."

Anderson's smile dropped from his face as they made their way through crowds of officers.

"They're anxious, alright. Hackett has been mobilizing the fleets. I'm going to take a guess that Command has caught wind as well. Something is headed our way."

Jane stopped in her tracks, the sinking, churning feeling in her gut intensified. Anderson glanced in her direction and saw the look in her eyes.

"We don't know what it is, not yet, but it's something _big_."

Jane had to furrow her brow. Were _they_ here already? Her sacrifice of the Bahak system had _only_ bought them a short six months?

"If it's _them_ then you know we're not ready, not by a long shot."

"Why do you think the defense committee is bringing you in?"

They continued along the halls of the Vancouver headquarters. More officers and soldiers could be seen gathering around numerous terminals.

"The committee is a damn waste of time! We can't just politely ask _them_ to please leave our galaxy in peace."

"They're just scared. They're turning to you because you've encountered _them_ before. Hell, you even spoke to one and then blew the damn thing up! You know what _they're_ planning for us, you know more about 'em than anyone else on this _planet_."

"Is that why the grounded me? Took my ship away?"

Anderson stopped Shepard with a hand to her shoulder and a serious expression.

"No, they grounded you because you _destroyed_ an _entire system_ full of Batarians!"

Shepard winced internally. It was the only decision she had, she _told_ herself over and over, every minute she had spent on-base, trying to justify herself _to_ herself.

"It was the only option I had. It was either that or let the _enemy_ waltz right through our back door and watch as they _fuck_ us up our asses!"

Anderson's face softened slightly. He could tell Shepard was tearing herself apart over this. Even someone with a will as indomitable as hers couldn't stand this much weight for too long.

"Calm down, Shepard. I'm not here to reprimand you. You just have to understand how it looks to the higher-ups. I trust you, Shepard. And so does Hackett. The committee will come around."

They continued on their way to central operations with Vega trailing behind.

"We're gonna need a lot more than trust if this is what I think it is…"

The receptionist before them turned to greet the trio, a look of apprehension on her face.

"They're expecting you two, Admiral."

Saluting, she led Anderson through the scanning detectors while Jane turned to shake Vega's hand.

"Good luck in there Shepard."

"Thanks. stay outta trouble."

Jane turned toward the scanners and saw yet another familiar face.

"Shepard!"

"Ashley?"

Shepard approached former Gunnery-Chief Ashley Williams. Her former squad mate during the hunt for Saren. Their last meeting was less than satisfactory and Jane could tell by the array of emotions in Ashley's eyes that she didn't know what to think of seeing her former Commander again.

"Lieutenant-Commander, how'd it go?"

Tearing her gaze from Shepard, Williams regarded Anderson with a salute.

"I can never tell with them. Just waiting for orders now."

"'Lieutenant-Commander'? Seems like I've missed quite a bit in my overabundant amount of downtime."

Ashley shifted her gaze back to Shepard's emerald eyes. Her face was uncharacteristically unreadable. Jane knew from experience that Williams wore her heart on her sleeve. It was one of the most charming points about the woman. From the moment they had met, Jane knew Ash was one of the most trustworthy people she would ever meet in her life, fiercely loyal and frighteningly blunt. The person before her now was different, and she couldn't tell if it was for better or for worse.

"Sorry ma'am, I wasn't in a position to let you know."

Shepard waved her off with a smile as fake as pyrite. The churning in her gut worsened.

"Don't sweat it, Chief. Now if I understand, we have a frightened committee to speak with?"

Anderson nodded and looked to the receptionist. Walking past the Lieutenant-Commander, Shepard and Anderson were ushered into the large room housing central operations for the Vancouver headquarters. Their eyes locked for a moment and Ashley gave the most unconvincing smile she had ever had the displeasure of giving. Vega came up next to Ashley.

"You know the Commander?"

Ash looked to James' inquisitive eyes, a woeful expression etched into her face.

"I'm not so sure anymore…"

* * *

Jane lowered the data pad, face hardened.

"You brought me here to confirm what you already know…"

The entire room's attention was focused on her. The defense committee had been receiving reports of unknown fleets in Alliance space, _immensely_ large ships of alien design just rending through entire battalions in seconds. They had lost contact with almost every colony beyond the Sol Relay. Even Arcturus Station had gone dark, a fact that filled Jane with dread. Surely, her Mother was alright. She had to be, she wasn't the type to go down without some kind of plan. She was alright, she had to be…

"The _Reapers_ are here."

This was it. Judgment day had come and Shepard knew things were going to get very bad _very_ quickly. Alliance Vancouver council member Major General Ninth class Alexis Kane raised her head, face etched with worry and dejection.

"Then… how do we stop them?"

Jane reeled back from the question.

"Stop them? This isn't about strategy or tactics anymore. This is about _survival_."

More soldiers of rank gathered from outside the hall, desperate to hear some form of hope. They would be disappointed.

"The Reapers are more advanced than we are, more powerful, more intelligent. They. Don't. Fear us! And they'll _never_ take pity on us. Our only course of action now, the _only_ way to survive this is to stand together and weather the storm."

Council member Brigadier General eighth class Stefan Burns stood from his seat, angry and confused.

" _That's_ it? _That's_ our plan!? I thought you'd have more of an idea than 'stand together!' You blew up an entire _system,_ destroyed a _Mass Relay_ , and put Humanity on the brink of war with the Batarians for this! If you are so bent on the idea of these Reapers then what the _hell_ have you been doing these past six months!?"

Jane was taken aback. This man _dared_ to speak to her like this? _He_ was the one who wanted her _executed_ to appease the Hegemony! This man undermined everything she did, and now he was _insulting_ her even while he asked for her help?

"Pardon me Brigadier General, but what the _fuck_ was _your_ plan? I was incarcerated for _all_ of those six months, what did you expect me to do while keeping me out of the loop for so long? Your _only_ smart move here was to bring me in now but it may already be _too late_!"

Rage tinted Burns' face.

"Now listen here, you-"

The red-haired receptionist interrupted the exchange.

"Admiral! We've lost contact with Luna Base!"

Horror shot through the room like a bullet as hushed gasps resounded throughout central operations. Anderson turned to the receptionist.

"The moon!? They couldn't be that close already…"

Major General Kane looked to her data pad for any answers she could.

"How'd they get past our defenses…?"

"U.K. Headquarters has a visual!"

Every head in the room turned to the large screen above the entrance. Through static and garbled signals, the face of a terrified Alliance soldier came into view. Whatever he was saying was incoherent through the video feed. A loud booming noise was heard before the footage was cut short, leaving the room in a stunned silence as various other feeds were brought up from around the world. Shepard had instantly recognized the design of the ships depicted on the screens, tearing apart entire cities.

They were truly here. This wasn't some Batarian retaliation strike in response to her actions. Jane's greatest fears had been realized. The Reapers had come.

Major General Kane's hands were visibly shaking.

"W-what do we do…?"

Gathering her courage, Jane stepped forward to the high desk of the Alliance Council, face and heart steeled.

"We fight or we _die_."

The numerous soldiers and officers looked to each other, confused, nervous and afraid. Anderson came up beside Shepard to put a hand on her shoulder.

"We need to get to the Normandy, now-"

A muffled, metallic sound echoed through central operations. Everyone turned toward the window behind the committee desk as it got louder. Jane's stomach tied itself in a knot as they all saw the gigantic, metal fingers of the Reapers descend from the clouded sky above Vancouver. Things were indeed going to get _very_ bad, _very quickly_.

"Oh my… god…"

" **Move**!"

Without warning, a beam of red energy struck down just outside the window, creating a deafening explosion. The blast shattered the window and launched the desk clear over her head to smash into the far wall. Another beam shot down through the room, several feet before her. Jane's body was thrown into the wall behind her, head knocking into the bench and dazing her as she fell to the floor.

 _Shepard…_

Jane clutched her throbbing head as her vision stopped swimming. She lifted her aching body to see Anderson run up to her.

"Shepard! C'mon, get up!"

Taking his hand, the ex-Commander hoisted herself upward. Looking around, Jane could only see destruction. Central ops was in _rubble_ , many officers died and those that didn't were badly wounded. Anderson grabbed a pistol from his jacket, handing it to Shepard.

"Take this, now c'mon, we gotta move!"

Jane couldn't find her voice, so she took the pistol and nodded. They stepped over charred corpses to the blown out window. Shepard knelt down to check anyone who may have been alive while Anderson tried hailing the Normandy. She turned over the body of Stefan Burns, only to find him dead. The man was an ass, but he didn't deserve to die like this. Coughing and wheezing caught her attention ahead and Jane rushed over to Major General Alexis Kane's prone form.

"Major General!"

Shepard put a hand on Kane's arm. She couldn't see any major injuries, but looking at the Major General's face, Jane knew the damage wasn't physical. Alexis looked out to the destruction happening in Vancouver. The Reapers were ripping the city to pieces _entire blocks_ at a time. Towering skyscrapers fell in an instant, dwarfed by enormous Reaper capital ships.

"My home…"

Jane looked in sympathy to the city. This was only the beginning. Minutes into the attack and so many had already lost their lives. She looked back to Alexis. She had respect for this woman; the Major General had presided over the assault on Torfan in the reactive attack after the Skyllian Blitz. Alexis Kane was considered a master infiltrator, one of the best in the Alliance. She had managed to snake a team behind Batarian forces and effectively destroyed the enemy command center from within, allowing the Alliance to liberate the system with ease and earning her rank. The mission was deemed suicidal; the odds of survival were exponentially low. Alexis had done it without losing a single marine. In a way, they were similar in that regard: they and their teams were alive when they should be long dead.

Seeing the Major General now brought a lance of empathy through her heart. Shepard placed a hand on Alexis's shoulder, bringing her smoky blue eyes to Jane's glittering green ones.

"… I know it's difficult to see, but we _need_ to move. We need to get to the Normandy. There's nothing we can do if we stay here looking on as these _bastards_ carve up everything we hold dear."

Kane looked up at Shepard through gray-blonde strands that had come out of the tight bun on her head. Jane was right, she had _always_ been right. Nodding, Alexis allowed Shepard to pull her to her feet, steadying herself on a broken piece of wall beside her.

"Y-yes… sitting here, blubbering will do no one any good."

"The Normandy is going to meet us at whatever's left of the northern landing pad."

The Major General reached into her ripped officer's jacket to brandish her own M-4 Shuriken machine pistol. With a hardened expression on her face, Alexis looked back to Shepard and Anderson.

"Ready."

* * *

"I've found the radio!"

After traveling along the rooftops of the base, the trio managed to arrive at the harbor instead of the northern landing pad. 'Whatever was left of it' was an understatement. The platforms were sinking into the sea, broken steel and shattered metal work surrounded them. The landing pads were in even worse condition from where they could see them and were far too open to wait for the Normandy.

Even out here, screams could be heard from within the city. _Who knew_ what the Reapers were doing to the inhabitants. Alexis had to suppress the need to regurgitate the contents of her stomach at the sight of the Reapers destroying Vancouver. _Her_ city.

"I would suggest haste, Admiral!"

The Major General shouted as she and Jane fired on the creatures coming up behind them. They were unlike _anything_ she had ever seen. They had the faces of Batarians but that was about the _only_ thing they had that was even remotely recognizable. Their bodies were horrible amalgamations of muscle tissue and cybernetics. She could've sworn she saw a few _eating_ the dead corpses of their comrades on their way here (which hadn't helped in her effort in keeping the contents of her stomach _in_ her stomach).

"Normandy! Do you copy?"

After much static, a clear voice rang through the air.

'Anderson? Where are you!? The landing pads are _gone_! We need a new rendezvous!'

"We had to reroute, we're at the harbor near a downed airship! Sending you the coordinates now!"

More static came in reply

"Lieutenant-Commander? Ashley! Damn it!"

Jane charged forward into one creature that got too close and ignited her shields into a blast around herself, sending it flying into the water before doubling back into their cover, back against a fallen metal support beam.

"Well? Are they coming?"

Anderson joined Jane and Alexis, taking position and ducking incoming fire.

"Our location was sent; we just have to hope they got it and hold out until they get here!"

Alexis launched out an incineration blast into a group of the things, burning their bodies into carbon. She watched as they became singed to a crisp. These horrible creatures would pay for hurting _her_ city.

The sight of the burning corpses distracted her long enough for a stray shot to pierce her shoulder, slicing right through her shields. Kane cried out in agony as her shoulder burned. The weaponry these things were using was far too powerful to be conventional thermal clip technology. Their rifles seemed to be fused into their _arms_.

"Kane!"

Shepard rushed over to Kane, pulling her body up to rest her back against the torn bulkhead she had been using as cover.

"Shit, we don't have any medi-gel. I need something to make-"

Jane couldn't finish her sentence as Alexis removed her officer's jacket. Kane grunted in pain as she handed it to Shepard, leaving her in a black Alliance tank-top. Her shoulder was bleeding heavily, skin singed brown in a terrible burn.

"Okay, that works…"

Tearing a sleeve and wrapping it around Kane's shoulder, Jane tied a knot into the fabric and hoped the Normandy would arrive soon so it could be treated properly. Shepard took Alexis' pistol from the ground, holding it out to the Major General.

"You O.K. to shoot?"

Kane took the Shuriken from Shepard, an irritated look on her face.

"I've been through worse."

After several minutes holding off the horrifying creatures (which Alexis and Jane agreed to call cannibals, since they did indeed eat their own fallen allies) it was quickly becoming apparent that they would not last much longer against the assault. Each of them were running worryingly low on thermal clips.

"Shite, I'm out!"

Kane shouted over the sound of gunfire.

"Last clip! Make it count!"

Anderson slid the thermal clip across the ground for Kane to use. The cannibals were relentless. For every one they killed, three more replaced it. The more time that passed, the more they realized that this would be the _end_ for them if something didn't happen soon.

Luckily that something just fired a pair of Thanix missiles into the horde of cannibals.

'The cavalry has arrived!'

The newly redesigned SSV Normandy SR2 shot overhead. Shepard beamed at the sight of her ship, proudly wearing the trademark blue and white Alliance colors as she came around to the end of the broken dock. The ship's dry dock door opened to reveal Lieutenant-Commander Ashley Williams and several Alliance soldiers armed with rifles.

"Lay down covering fire! We need to get them aboard, NOW!"

The marines began firing into the crowds of cannibals, giving the trio enough space to maneuver.

"Let's move!"

Jane vaulted over broken bulkheads with Anderson and Kane following closely behind. Reaching the end of the dock, Shepard leapt onto the Normandy, extending a hand to the Major General and bringing her safely on-board. Jane turned again to David, hand extended.

"C'mon!"

"… I'm not going."

Jane looked in confusion to Anderson. His face was set in a hard stare at the destruction behind him; several Kodiak shuttles flew by carrying Alliance soldiers into the battlefield.

"This is only going to get worse, Shepard. There are millions of men and women suffering right now, scattered and confused! They need a leader!"

"Then I'm staying too. We're in this fight together, Anderson!"

The Admiral looked back to Shepard, eyes sharp and mouth in a firm line.

"This isn't a fight we can win… not by ourselves! Get to the Citadel, talk to the Council, do whatever you can to get help!"

Jane knew how the Council worked, she would rather have her teeth pulled than deal with them.

"What if they won't listen?"

"Then MAKE them listen! Now go! That's an order!"

Jane smirked at the former Councilor.

"I don't take orders from you anymore, remember?"

Anderson had to chuckle. Shepard had always been stubborn, even when she was a kid. He reached into his pocket and brought out a pair of dog tags.

"Then consider yourself reinstated…"

David threw the tags to Shepard. Catching them, Jane gazed down at the tiny pieces of metal. They depicted her military information: 'Jane Anastasia Shepard, Cmdr. 6th class N7'

"… Commander!"

Jane looked up to Anderson, smile falling from her face.

"I'll be back for you… and I'll bring every fleet I can!"

She saluted the Admiral for what would possibly be the last time. She had so much respect for this man. Without him, she wouldn't be the woman she was today.

"Good luck…"

Anderson smiled.

"You too, Shepard."

The Normandy began lifting itself from the dock as Anderson turned to board the nearby shuttle. Alexis and Ashley came up next to her, looking out to Vancouver. This was only the beginning. If they failed, it wasn't just going to be Earth that would suffer; the _entire_ galaxy was going to suffer for it.

Alexis turned with tears in her eyes, unnoticed by anyone but herself, as she walked into the interior of the Normandy, clutching her shoulder.

Ash placed a hand on Jane's shoulder before heading into the shuttle bay. She still didn't know what to think of the situation, didn't know what to think of _Shepard_.

Jane was about to turn away from the grim scene when she caught sight of another pair of eyes within the chaos. A boy, no older than ten years, looked up at the Normandy as a shuttle parked itself behind him. She watched as an enormous Reaper closed in on the shuttle landings. The boy boarded the Kodiak; their eyes locking as the doors slid closed and immediately took off away from the immense machine.

Completely helpless, Jane could only observe in anguish as the gigantic Reaper shot the shuttle right out of the sky.

Shepard had to turn away as the charred Kodiak plummeted into the ocean. This was _monstrous_. And it was _only_ the beginning.

Sparing one last spiteful glance at the horrible Reaper, the Commander retreated into the Normandy's shuttle bay as the ship began her ascent into the skies above. Anderson was right; this wasn't a fight they could win alone. They needed help, now more than ever.

She just hoped there would be an Earth left to help when she returned.


	4. Reunion

**Disclaimer: Most of the characters and all of the locations, technologies, concepts, etc that appear in this story are property of Bioware/EA.**

* * *

 **This is War**

"Let me be clear here, Lieutenant-Commander, I've had _no_ contact with Cerberus since being held in custody on Earth. And I have _no_ idea why they're here now, or _what_ they want!"

Jane was getting frustrated. Having Ashley second guess her the minute she had stepped back onto the Normandy wasn't putting her in the best of moods. She understood where Ash was coming from, she did. Ash was confused and hurting; she had just seen horrible alien machines tearing her world apart. But if she couldn't accept Shepard's command without trusting her, they would have a problem.

Shepard activated the lift into the garage area of the Alliance Mars Archives. Admiral Hackett had asked Shepard to travel to the Archives and rendezvous with Liara T'soni, who he had asked to assist with analyzing and processing data from the ancient Prothean server housed inside. The sound of Liara's name made Shepard's stomach flop in both delight and dread. Her Liara was alive amidst this chaos, but seeing the Cerberus soldiers on the way to the base made her worry.

This facility was secured tighter than an STG base. The only way Cerberus could have managed to land shuttles so close was to have a mole already inside to sabotage security systems.

"The Commander's been under constant surveillance since she turned herself in. There's no way they've communicated since."

Vega chimed in. The Lieutenant was still miffed about leaving Earth. They shouldn't be going off to appeal to the Council or running to Mars for some red herring; they should be _on_ Earth, fighting to get the damn metal cuttlefishes off their planet.

"It's just-"

The elevator hissed as the interior pressurized and was filled with oxygen. The group removed their helmets.

"You know me better than this. I shouldn't have to explain myself to you, of all people, Ash."

Ashley didn't know what to believe. She practically _saw_ Shepard get spaced from her escape pod more than two years ago. Then her former Commander shows up on Horizon, conveniently during a Collector attack and _confirms_ that she's working with Cerberus, a known anti-alien terrorist organization, even going as far as to confirm that they had _rebuilt_ her. _Then_ she receives news that Shepard –her _Commander_ \- had gone rouge and blew up an entire system chock full of Batarians!

She couldn't understand. Shepard _saw_ the sick experiments Cerberus was running for herself: the thresher maw attacks on Akuze, the incident with the late Admiral Kahoku, conducting tests on their _own_ people using Thorian spores! And she _still_ worked with them! She was never a large supporter of Human relations with aliens but Cerberus was on a completely different level. Williams knew her Commander. Shepard wouldn't compromise her integrity to get the resources she needed.

It's not that she didn't _want_ to trust this woman. She desperately wanted to believe that this was the Commander Shepard that she had met all those years ago on Eden Prime, the same Commander who she had fought with, tooth and nail through half the galaxy in tracking down Saren. The Commander she looked up to, not only as a C.O. but as a friend, a sister, a confidant.

The same Commander she had… fallen in love with.

She _couldn't_ trust this woman. Not yet, at least.

The elevator came to a halt within the garage, all-terrain vehicles, lifts and storage crates filled the room.

"What're we even here for anyway-"

Gunshots rang out on the balcony above them. The trio drew weapons and took cover behind a large U-27 black bear. Muffled shouts resounded from the door above and more gunfire followed. Seconds passed in silence before the heavy metal door burst from its place, smashing the railing and landing several feet from their position on the lower level of the garage. A Cerberus trooper was then thrown from the balcony, landing on the metal slab with a hard _thud_.

Jane was about to raise her M-23 Katana to finish him as he tried to rise to his feet, yet stopped as the soldier's body was encased in a shimmering biotic stasis field. As far as she knew, the only species that were capable of forming a stasis field from pure biotics were Volus and Asari, and she was more than sure she wouldn't find a Volus this far from Council Space…

Without warning, the source of the field leapt from the balcony to land on a cushion of biotic energy. Drawing a pistol, she walked to the helpless trooper and put a slug square into his forehead, killing him outright. Another soldier came from the door on the balcony.

"She's taken out half of Beta already! Where the hell are-"

The trooper found himself pulled to the lower level, front slamming into the floor as the white-garbed biotic shot two rounds into him. Shepard knew this woman, and couldn't resist the wide smile that dominated her face as she came out of cover.

"Hey! Don't move-!"

James raised his rifle only to have the Commander put her hand to it, lowering the barrel.

"Easy, Lieutenant. She's with us, no doubt about it."

A scalp crested head turned toward the voices and emerald green met deep-sapphire for the first time in six months. Shepard was alive. _Her_ Jane was alive!

Liara couldn't help herself as she bolted across the room to latch herself onto Jane in a bruising hug. She had heard about what was happening on Earth as she hunted down whatever Cerberus units she could within the facility. She had been on her way to the garage to load up a shuttle to head for Earth to find Jane, herself. She couldn't remember feeling a more powerful wave of relief wash over her in all her life as Shepard's armored arms came around her waist in a tight squeeze.

Behind the two, James could only stare in surprise while Ashley looked away. She knew they were together, she knew they loved one another. She hadn't told a single soul about her infatuation with the Commander. Ashley had been careful, showed no inclination to her true feelings.

Being completely honest with herself, she still didn't trust this woman, but seeing their embrace had left an aching hole in her heart.

"Thank the Goddess you're alive…"

Liara separated herself from Jane, tears welling up in her eyes. She had been _desperate_ to get to the garage, and had killed anyone foolish enough to stand in her way. She had to get to Earth. She had to make sure her Jane was alright. In a way, she found the thought foolish. Of _course_ Shepard was alright. Her Jane was always alright.

Jane reached a hand up to wipe a tear away as it slid down a blue cheek, caressing it with her thumb.

"You too, Liara…"

Liara sighed in happiness as she leaned into the gloved hand

"I was so worried when I heard… _they've_ finally come, haven't they?"

A grim expression marred Shepard's face.

"Yes."

Liara grimaced and brought her own hand up to lay it atop Jane's.

"I'm… sorry, about Earth."

Gathering herself, Ashley stepped forward.

"It was tough seeing it… even tougher to leave."

"Ashley… I'm so sorry. But I need to ask, why did you come here? No distress signals were sent out as far as I know."

The former archeologist let go of Jane's hand and turned to step toward the window overlooking the southern half of the facility. Shepard came up behind her. Liara could feel Jane's mind scratching at the edges of her own. Oh, how she greatly wanted to break down and meld with her lover, right here and now. After being together with Shepard again after her take over as the Shadow Broker, she doubted she would be able to get used to having their minds separate from each other. It felt… natural to be so intertwined with her lover. She had stuck it out for six months, but even then it was almost _agony_ living without the bronze haired Commander.

"We were about to head to the Citadel before Hackett ordered us to come here. He said you were trying to find something that might help?"

Liara smirked and stepped the rest of the way to the window.

"Yes, and I did."

Vega breathed a sigh of relief. They were _finally_ getting somewhere. As much as he enjoyed the sight of two beautiful women, he felt they had already wasted enough time here.

"Well, lay it on us, Doc."

The Shadow Broker turned to the trio and leaned against the side of the glass.

"I've discovered what may be the blueprint for some kind of device within the data stored in the Prothean archive server here. It may help in the fight but I don't know all the details yet."

Shepard furrowed her brow. Something like this was hidden in the Mars Archives and no one knew about it?

"We've known about the server for decades… why are we just finding out about this now?"

Liara lowered her head. She and Doctor Kinley had spent weeks pouring over the mountains of data to find this schematic, and even when they had located it, they didn't even really know what it was or what the finished product would even _do_.

"I doubt there was any reason to research it in this depth before. Hackett had brought in many brilliant minds to study it. He even tracked me down to ask if I could use my… resources to help."

Liara took a quick glance at Ashley and Vega. Shepard of course had been privy to the knowledge of her real occupation as the Shadow Broker, but other than her and certain other crew members of the Normandy, no one else knew. And she preferred to keep it that way.

"After the destruction of the Alpha relay, you were under investigation. I… had to do something, even before Admiral Hackett contacted me; I was looking into any Prothean information on the Reapers I could find. The data server housed here is simply extraordinary! I'm actually rather surprised at how much the staff had siphoned off of it. The sheer amount of information and the level of encoding it-"

"Liara, we don't exactly have a lot of time."

Ashley interrupted with a frown. Even back when they had picked Liara up in Artemis Tau, the former archaeologist had a habit of being longwinded with her conversations. Shepard gazed at Liara with affection. After all this time, Liara was still the precious archaeologist she had fallen hard for.

Liara jumped and blushed slightly, fumbling with her fingers.

"Ah, yes, you're right. The server is housed in the central complex, there past the tram rail."

She pointed a gloved finger out the window and to the circular structure at the heart of the facility.

"We'll need to get there to download the rest of the data and analyze it to find out just what we're dealing with. I would imagine Cerberus came for the server so we should be ready for any resistance along the way."

Jane let a smile grace her freckled face.

"Wouldn't be as much fun without a bit of target practice, huh?"

Liara looked to Shepard, eyes brimming with emotion. She had missed that smile for _far_ too long. She suddenly felt guilty, that over the entirety of the six months of Shepard being incarcerated, she hadn't even visited her beloved Commander.

"I'm sorry… I had meant to come see you… but…"

Jane took Liara's hand in her own, squeezing gently.

"There's no need to apologize, Liara. As much as I would've enjoyed the visit, what you were involved with here could really help. Besides…"

The red-haired Commander leaned in close to Liara's head, whispering in a voice only the former archaeologist could hear.

"I'm more than sure I gave you a bit of a show many times during my stay."

Liara shuddered as she felt Shepard's warm breath against her cheek. Jane figured Liara had found a way to tap into the security cameras on-base. She _was_ the Shadow Broker, after all.

"And I expect to get a little show of my own once we have the time. I think I might be able to forgive you if you do a good job."

Jane leaned forward to rest her lips against Liara's jaw in a small kiss and pulled back. Blue eyes were hazed over and a serene smile played upon dark cobalt lips.

"Y-you're too kind…"

Shepard felt her lover's mind brush tenderly against hers as she gave Liara's hand one last squeeze before allowing it to fall to her side.

"Okay, you know this facility better than any of us, Liara. You take point."

Liara couldn't tell if she was incredibly excited or lightheaded from using such powerful biotics for the better part of the day. The last time she had heard that phrase was more than two years ago, within the Prothean towers on Feros. Liara had been the most experienced in navigating Prothean architecture. The fact that Shepard still trusted Liara to lead the group sent a lance of warmth into her stomach.

"We'll need access to the-"

An explosion on the upper level cut Liara off. The group looked up to see more Cerberus troops land in the garage. Gunfire rang out and they took cover behind crates and vehicles.

"Vega! Get to the elevator and make your way back to the shuttle!"

James grunted in indignation as he fired blindly back at the enemy troops.

"What? Why!?"

"If things go bad in there I need you covering our exit! Covering fire, Williams, NOW!"

Ashley popped up from cover and began firing her M-8 Avenger rifle, hitting several of the assault troopers and forcing them to back off into their own cover behind a set of forklifts. James begrudgingly took the opportunity to run to the elevator, activating it and ducking down as it began lowering into the depressurizing chamber.

With the Lieutenant out of sight, Shepard looked over her crate. The Cerberus soldiers were coming out of their cover to fire on the trio. She counted four troopers and one captain.

"Five man unit, broken 'C' assault formation. I'm gonna guess this is what's left of this 'Beta' squad?"

"I wasn't exactly in a position to ask where the rest of their team was!"

Liara yelled over the gunfire.

"Good point! Let's mow 'em down like we used to. Ready Chief!?"

Ashley swapped out her Avenger for her M-92 Mantis sniper rifle and gave a curt nod to Shepard.

Jane looked to ocean blue eyes and Liara to emerald green. This dance was one they knew, every single step.

Shepard vaulted out of cover and charged forward in a blue flash of biotics to the Centurion. Before he could even brace himself for the hit, a strong warp field tore at his shields and the combined force of it and Shepard's charge had caused a chaotic explosion of dark energy. The centurion was flung to the far corner of the garage.

As Jane recovered, an assault trooper came up on her right, beyond her peripheral vision, and had would have fired on her if it wasn't for the slug that found its way into his skull from the barrel of Williams' rifle. The soldier ahead of Shepard couldn't even raise his rifle to fire into her shields before he was ensnared in a pull field and was promptly ripped apart limb from limb as Shepard ignited her barrier in a nova blast before his floating form, giving Ashley enough room to maneuver around the garage.

Jane ran to the next soldier whom was launched toward the Commander by a concussive blast from the former Gunnery-Chief. Shepard outstretched her leg to slam the trooper onto the floor, mercilessly turning his head into a gory red splatter with a pull of the trigger on her shotgun. The last trooper alive tried to fire on Shepard but found his bullets ineffective as they bounced off of a biotic energy field. He soon found himself frozen in place by a stasis field.

Shepard raised her hand in a closed fist, signaling her squad mates to stop their attack. The Commander walked up to the helpless soldier.

"I'm going to ask you very nicely, and you'd better have an answer for me. Why is Cerberus interested in the Archives?"

Without even giving him time to answer, Shepard unhooked her M-3 Predator pistol from her hip and placed a bullet into his kneecap. The soldier howled in pain as she placed the barrel against his gut, between his white armor plates.

"Why is Cerberus here?"

Another shot rang out as the trooper coughed up blood inside his helmet. Shepard aimed her pistol between the eye slots on his helmet.

"Last chance…"

"Go to hell, slut-"

One last gunshot ended the soldier's life as the stasis field fell to allow his body to slump onto the floor.

"Not the best interrogation but I can't say I didn't enjoy it."

Ashley said as she walked over to Shepard. She certainly fought like the Shepard she knew. The red-head had a confidence on the battle field that had been practiced and nurtured and grown over years of experience. She instinctually had faith that her squad members would do what she intended for them to do. It wasn't enough to convince Williams, but it was a starting point.

Holstering her pistol, Jane looked to Ashley and then to Liara's approaching form with a grin on her face.

"Like I said, wouldn't be any fun without a bit of target practice."

Liara rolled her eyes at her lover's wise-crack, a wide smirk pulling at her mouth.

Another shot resounded throughout the garage and Liara had just enough time to enshroud the squad in another biotic energy field. Jane threw out a pull field as Ashley turned on one knee to put a slug into the source: the Centurion captain who had been thrown across the room, whose head was now several feet from his floating body.

"Anyone else?"

Jane shouted into the air. Silence followed and she proceeded to allow her grin to grow wider.

"Well, now that we've introduced ourselves, let's go see what this party is all about. After you, Ms. T'soni."


	5. Enemy

**Disclaimer: Most of the characters and all of the locations, technologies, concepts, etc that appear in this story are property of Bioware/EA.**

* * *

 **This is War**

Blood spattered the nearby wall as Shepard finished off the last trooper in the ped-way terminal station. After a grueling battle with Cerberus forces, they had arrived at the tram leading to the heart of the facility.

"James? Vega, _damn it_ can you hear me?"

Jane tried to contact the Lieutenant for the second time with no results. The massive sand storm outside was causing so much radio interference that all she got in reply was garbled static.

"We'll see him when we do. Right now we need to get to the server. It's just beyond this tramway."

Liara sat down at the console and attempted to access tram controls. Video feeds from the central facility flickered to life on the screens above. They depicted the woman who Liara referred to as Doctor Eva Core, who had been transferred to the Mars Archives a week prior to the incident they now faced. She was seen on-screen speaking with a heavily armored Cerberus soldier, who seemed to be larger and better outfitted than the ones they had taken down to get here.

'I want the tram line disabled. Keep the Alliance from coming across! And shut down those damn cameras!'

The screen cut to static as Doctor Core shot the surveillance camera.

"So she _is_ the Cerberus mole. As if her suffocating the staff inside the mess wasn't enough evidence."

Ashley sneered at the screens as they turned to black.

"Cerberus managed to get to the central complex. It should take them some time to crack the security codes for the doors to the data server, unless of course they've already broken through."

Liara frowned at the screen before her.

"I can't gain access to the tram; it runs on a separate network from the rest of the facility. We need some way to get over there."

Ashley came up behind Liara to look out at the tram loading station, then to her Commander.

"Maybe we can find a short range transmitter on one of these guys. Helmet to helmet. We convince them we're on their side, that the Alliance forces are gone and get them to bring the tram over."

It was a solid enough plan, and better than braving the sand storm outside for hours trying to find a way in. Jane nodded as she came over to join her squad.

"Good thinking L.C. Start looking around."

Ashley gave Shepard another look. That same look she had seen on Earth, not only from Williams but from every single Alliance marine on the Vancouver H.Q. grounds.

'Can I trust this woman?'

Shepard was quickly getting fed up with the tension between herself and the former Gunnery-Chief. If they were to work together, they needed to have it out and soon. There was no time for drama and grudges when entire worlds would soon be falling to the Reapers.

Liara seemed to sense the rigidity in their exchanges as well as she watched Williams leave the room out of the corner of her eye.

"Ashley seems to have become quite… capable since last I saw her."

Jane looked in the direction of her squad mate's exit.

"… Agreed."

"Commander! Over here!"

Jane turned to walk to Williams' position. Liara looked after her lover. Something was... _off_ about the Lieutenant-Commander. Ashley had always been a strong-hearted woman. She was fierce, determined, stood by her beliefs and morals and was never afraid to speak her mind. Yet looking at her now, it was clear she was hiding _something_ from Shepard and herself. What that something was, they would need to find out and deal with. Ashley knew what they had to focus on, and in this situation, even the smallest mistake due to distraction would result in catastrophic consequences.

"Found anything?"

Jane came around the corner to see Williams knelt down over a dead Centurion.

"He's got a mobile transmitter inside his helmet. If we can get at it and tweak the settings to- ugh!"

The Centurion's helmet opened to reveal something horrifying. The man's skin underneath was a sickly pale, turning dark gray at his lips and eyes glowing a dull electric blue. Veins bulged out all across his face. Both Shepard and Williams immediately knew what he looked like.

"Oh god… he… he looks like a husk."

Jane bent down to take a closer look at the dead man's face, reaching into his helmet to retrieve his transmitter. It unnerved her being this close to him. He almost looked to be halfway through the process of transforming into one of the terrible, dried out cybernetic creatures she had encountered so many times. She knew Cerberus had a reputation on experimentation with various technologies, but this didn't just cross a line they had skirted before. This _destroyed_ the line and careened off of a nearby cliff.

Ashley stood; hand on her mouth in a display of disgust.

"Cerberus _allowed_ this? The bastards claim to stand for Humanity, and they do _this_ to their people!?"

Finally ripping the radio transmitter from his helmet, Jane stood beside Ashley. She could still smell the horrid metallic scent the captain had been emanating.

"That… that could've been you."

Ash said in a hushed voice. The emotions running through her made her insides squirm in revulsion.

"What?"

Jane turned to Williams, who was turning away from Shepard, unable to look at her Commander. She couldn't possibly be insinuating…?

"For all I knew, _that's_ what they had done to you!"

Jane stared, slack-jawed at the back of Ashley's brunette head. She couldn't be saying this.

"I mean what was there to stop them from putting something in you that could control you? Would you even really know if they _were_ controlling you? What if, this whole time-"

Something inside Jane finally snapped.

"Ashley, look at me!"

Jane yelled as she put a hand to the Lieutenant-Commander's arm, forcing her to turn around in her grip to stare at Shepard. The red-head's freckled face was awash with anger, a firm scowl on her lips.

"I'm not sure how many more different ways I can find to say this, Williams, but comparing me to that thing is not only _insulting_ , it's _fucking_ _ **unfair**_!"

Ash jumped from the tone of voice Shepard took as the sound reverberated around the tram loading facility. Jane's gaze was filled with resentment and anger, but also a desperate plea for understanding.

"We've been through _so much_ , Ash; we've shared our lives with each other, kept each other alive through thick and thin! We're _friends_! Does that mean _**nothing**_ to you!?"

It had meant more to the former Gunnery-Chief than Shepard knew.

"It's not that simple! You can't just… come back the way you did and have everything be the same!"

"I'm the same person I've always been. Time will _not_ change that! I understand if you need time to sort out your own feelings but _god damn it_ , Ash, if you can't _trust me_ then I may as well have brought Major General Kane with me instead of _you_!"

The altercation had caught Liara's attention as she peeked around the corner, concern etching her face. She knew her Jane wouldn't be yelling at one of her closest friends if it wasn't for the right reasons. She gazed at Ashley; the Lieutenant-Commander looked to be on the verge of _tears_.

Anger receding, Jane felt herself deflate once she had finished her outburst. The look on Ash's face sent a shock of guilt directly to her heart. She didn't mean to shout, but Ashley _had_ to realize what this was doing to her. Having one of the only people in her life she considered a true friend to distrust her and suspect her of being one of those… _things_ was something she _wouldn't_ stand for.

Shepard sighed and ran a gloved hand through her hair.

"Look, Ash I'm sorry for yelling-"

Sniffling, Ashley raised an open palm to stop Shepard.

"No… there's no reason to apologize. I just… you're right. I just need some time to… get to know you again, I guess. Right now, we have a job to do. And I'm just…"

Jane came over to place a hand on Williams' shoulder pad.

"Ash… I would trust you with my _life_. I just need you to trust me for the next few minutes. _Please…_ "

Jane's emerald eyes locked onto Ashley's watering brown orbs. Those eyes could _never_ lie, and Williams knew it. She nodded her head frantically, eyes burning and hair flailing wildly, slightly disheveled when she stopped.

Jane smiled and took a dark strand between a gloved finger and thumb.

"Y'know, it's not exactly regulation to keep hair this long out of a bun…"

The former Gunnery-Chief burst out in a shaky laugh as she wiped the tears from her eyes.

"I'll make sure to fix it after we get back to the Normandy… ma'am."

Jane grinned as she turned to the loading area below. Ashley allowed her eyes to linger on Shepard's armored form, silently appreciating the way the body suit complemented her Commander's strong frame. It was a quick slip of the mind as she righted herself and focused forward. Still, it was there, it _happened_ and sapphire eyes couldn't help but notice it.

"Alright, let's see if we can get that tram over here."

Shaking herself out of her observations, Liara came up to Shepard, taking the hand that held the transmitter.

"I'm more than sure we haven't killed any female Cerberus soldiers, it may be counter-intuitive to simply contact them without any sort of voice manipulation."

Liara suggested as she activated her omni-tool, swiping it over the radio twice. Jane smiled tenderly at her Asari.

"What would I do without you?"

The Shadow Broker smirked with pride.

"I couldn't possibly leave my hapless Commander to endure the horrors of radio transmission tampering."

Liara chanced a glance at the Lieutenant-Commander and immediately had her suspicions confirmed. Despite looking at the loading bay before them, Ashley's eyes flickered with pain at hearing their exchange. Williams had feelings for Jane. How could she not have seen it before?

There would need to be a discussion sometime in the future but like the Lieutenant-Commander had said: they had a job to do.

* * *

'Hello? This is… Delta team, does anyone copy?'

The Cerberus commander shoved his way to the center of what remained of his battalion. Only Kilo, Echo and his own Charlie squads had survived to this point, no thanks to the damned Asari going berserk and taking out almost every squad on the northern side of the station. Now an Alliance team was involved and was steadily pushing to the server. It was slightly infuriating to see his men slain by a damn alien and her Human pets.

"And where the **fuck** have you been!? Never mind, give me your status, **now**!"

'We're at the tram station, waiting for extraction. All hostiles terminated.'

"Did you kill that Asari bitch and get her omni-tool?'

A slight pause in the conversation permeated the silence.

'Yes, target is dead and omni-tool has been recovered.'

The commander signaled the remaining members of Echo squadron.

"Finally, some good fucking news! Echo squad is going to ride over and bring you in! Eva's whining is giving me a headache; we need to leave this damn dust ball."

The large Cerberus commander stopped one of the lesser Centurion captains, handing him an explosive pack.

"That's not Delta squad. Put this on the tram line and take out **whoever** is over there."

The Centurion took the pack and saluted his taller superior.

* * *

"We should take cover; flank them from behind those crates."

Ashley pointed to the containers scattered around the loading area. The display at the top of the partition separating the tram from the loading bay flickered to life and the squad saw the progress of the tram as it made its way across to them.

"Good idea L.C. Ambush style tactics, just like old times. Take positions and wait for my signal."

Liara and Ashley nodded and took cover behind several crates to the left and right of the large sliding door. The display above them beeped loudly as the tram docked with the loading bay. The door slid open and smoke grenades exploded before Shepard had the chance to launch their attack. The Cerberus troopers began firing from the tram into the crates.

"They saw through our ploy!"

Liara hissed over their radio. Shepard glowered and tried to catch a glimpse at the unit through the smoke. Without a proper estimation of their numbers, acting recklessly would get her squad and herself killed.

"At least they were nice enough to bring the tram over!"

Ashley shouted.

"They're firing blindly at us! They don't know where we are, so we still have the advantage here. Ash, grenade! Liara move closer to the tram! **Stay in cover**!"

Shepard barked out as she moved to a nearby crate in an attempt to get a better look at what they were dealing with. She could hear Williams' incendiary grenade explode within the tram and the resulting screams confirmed several hits. She took a glance at the tram and saw a hole within the smoke, through which she could see a Centurion captain trying desperately to put out fires on his armor. She had her chance.

"Liara, warp on my target!"

The Shadow Broker stood and launched a warp field into the smoke. Having such a close relationship with Shepard and being so connected in their melds had not only resulted in the phantom cognizance phenomenon. When they were within close proximity, their mental link could be felt without any effort. Liara instinctively felt Jane within her awareness, just as Jane felt Liara. The Asari knew exactly where Jane's target was.

A loud, fiery explosion resounded as the smoke dissipated. Shepard looked above her crate to see the enemy unit: six troopers remained, two shield wielding Guardians and the charred Centurion who was still standing, armor blackened and glowing from the warp field. Jane allowed a toothy smile to form on her face. With the enemy clearly visible, her squad could finally do what they did best.

"Blunted spearhead formation, rip them apart!"

Jane leapt over her cover and charged into the enemy unit, smashing directly into the Centurion and causing a powerful biotic explosion. The blast sent three assault troopers and the Centurion flying at lethal speeds to be crushed against the walls of the tram. The guardians turned to fire on Shepard, only to be lifted up into the air and pulled into a singularity to be incinerated by another of Williams' grenades.

Two assault troops closed on Shepard. The first fired on her, Jane's barrier eating the slugs as she grabbed the soldier's armed hand, twisting it in the air and forcing him to drop the pistol he wielded. Jane turned herself to place the troop between herself and the other Cerberus soldier. With a swift strike, Jane collapsed the unarmed trooper's throat as he took several rounds to his back as his comrade tried to fire on Shepard. Jane shoved the injured solider into his squad member and hurled a pull field at the duo, ensnaring them just before another warp blast struck them from behind.

The explosion tore the first soldier's chest from his abdomen while sending the second to Jane. Shepard purged her barrier in a concentrated discharge of biotic energy and flung the blast at the soldier, causing his chest to explode upon impact.

The last soldier came up behind Shepard, attempting to take her by surprise but soon found his body thrust backward from a concussive shot. Back slamming into the tram wall, he could only watch as the Commander unlatched the shotgun from her back and proceed to fire it into his chest, killing him instantly.

Jane panted in exertion as Liara and Ashley came to join her within the tram.

"I never thought I'd see the great Commander Shepard exhausted from such a small fight."

Liara teased with a smirk on her face. The jab earned a playful glare from emerald eyes.

"Cut the Commander some slack, she _has_ been out of the game for six months. Only natural to have some rust set in."

Ashley chimed in with her own grin. Jane shook her head and ran a hand through her bronze locks.

"Alright, alright. You can make fun of me all yah want when we get back to the Normandy. Right now we have some data to retrieve and a small, pissed off army to kill to do it."

Shepard said as she punched in commands to the tram control panel. The tram activated as the group secured their breather equipment. The partition behind them closed as the chamber depressurized and allowed the tram to move along the track.

The squad reeled backward as strong winds of red dust assaulted them as the tram moved.

"The storm is getting worse; we need to hurry this up!"

"I have to wonder why Cerberus would send the tram over when they knew their own squads were kill-"

An explosion shook the tram and their travel suddenly came to a halt. Shepard quickly lifted herself up.

"Shit, they rigged the tram line! We need to get over- augh!"

Jane was interrupted by a shot to her barriers. Ashley looked ahead to see another tram move its way outward and stop, occupied by four Cerberus assault troopers. The former Gunnery chief raised her Mantis.

"Orders are to keep them away from the security checkpoint! Keep this tram from going over there and-"

A shot rang out and removed the trooper's head from his shoulders.

"Liara! Can you hack in and get that tram over here?"

Shepard shouted as she fired her pistol at the soldiers.

"I'm within the system already. Just a few more… got it!"

Liara said from her position at the access panel. The other tram began moving again. Jane tossed out a pull field, grasping a trooper and launching him out of the tram to tumble down the massive ravine below them.

The tram came to a halt directly next to their own, and Shepard quickly leapt over the gap, barrier taking several shots before she purged it again to fling the two remaining soldiers out of the tram. Liara and Ashley jumped over to the tram as Jane took control from the panel and forced the tram back the way it came.

"Cerberus has this many people to throw at this place? This can't be a cheap operation to run. Risking this many men is a big gamble."

The Lieutenant-Commander stated as she looked out at the central facility.

"Yes, whatever we uncovered here has to be of significant value if they're willing to put this many resources into obtaining it."

"We'll find out soon enough. Expect heavy resistance once we're in."

Jane said as she readied her Katana. This had to be the majority of last of the Cerberus forces left in the base. There was no doubt they would fight to the last man.

* * *

The situation was **fucked**.

Echo squad was sent over to take care of the imposters and didn't check in. The Cerberus commander could only assume they got themselves killed and the second team failed to keep the Alliance team on the tram. And now the last of Kilo was facing _Commander_ fucking _Shepard_ and getting decimated in record time.

"God damn it! If you morons can't do this, I'll kill them myself! Charlie squad, form up! Rook formation, NOW!"

He hit the console before him and lowered the glass and steel barriers around the facility checkpoint and bounded over the console. The elite forces of Charlie squadron moved onto the battlefield: Four black armored troopers, three guardians, two Centurion vice-captains and the imposing commander in his modified TS-V Destroyer Battlesuit.

" **Devastator mode engaged**! C'mon Shepard, let's see what you're made of!"

He shouted as he began firing a large Typhoon heavy assault rifle, forcing Jane's squad into cover.

"We can't take a hit from that thing! It'll tear us apart!"

Ashley yelled as she tried firing back at the enemy. The guardians surrounded the enemy commander in a tight shell as the troopers fanned out before them, shooting at the Alliance team. The Centurions flanked their commander, firing their own modded Mattock rifles. Like pieces on a chess table, the Cerberus formation was a daunting force of bullets and armor centered on their commander.

"Ideas, Shepard?"

Liara said from behind her crate.

"We need to be patient, peel apart the layers until only that bastard is left! Ash! Punch me a hole!"

Nodding, Ashley shot out a weak concussive round from her rifle, pushing a trooper off balance as Jane sent out a powerful shockwave. The trooper toppled to the ground and was incinerated by a grenade, whose blast radius forced the other troopers to spread out. Jane took her chance while the enemy Destroyer was exchanging shots with Ashley and charged forward, smashing into the shield of a guardian and knocking it away. She had just enough time to blow the man's head clean off with her Katana before a Centurion tore right through her barriers and lodged several bullets into her armored side. Liara froze the Centurion with a stasis field and allowed Shepard to back off, throwing a pull field at a nearby trooper.

As the trooper exploded from an unstable biotic explosion thanks to Liara, Jane returned to cover.

"Shepard! Are you alright!?"

Liara yelled to Jane.

"I'm fine! Didn't get past the suit. They have modded rounds to get through personal shielding so watch yourselves!"

Jane shouted over the gunfire. Three down, seven to go.

"Liara, get his attention!"

The Shadow Broker nodded and launched out a powerful biotic throw at the Cerberus Destroyer, garnering his focus as he turned to fire at her. Ashley switched to her Mantis quickly and sniped off another guardian right through the vision slot in his shield. Jane charged off into a trooper, grabbing him and putting a round directly into his gut.

Jane ignited her barriers once more to force the remaining guardian back as Ashley switched back to her Avenger to take him out with his shield lowered while Liara erected a biotic barrier to protect Shepard from another Centurion's shots. Shepard charged to the final trooper, sending him to the wall to allow the Lieutenant-Commander to loose another concussive shot into him, crushing his chest and ending his life.

"Is this it!? I'm disappointed, we brought you back and _this_ is all you can do? **Missiles at the ready**!"

The small mounted cannon on the Destroyer's shoulder whirred to life and began firing out a small hawk rocket into the air. Jane grimaced and turned to run, only to take a missile to her back.

"Shepard!"

Jane launched herself over the nearby crate. Even through her barriers, Jane could feel the red-hot impact of the rocket's explosion. Ashley maneuvered over to her Commander's location, tossing another incendiary grenade to scorch one Centurion who then detonated in a fiery blast as Liara threw another warp field into him.

"Shepard, here, you're okay! You're okay!"

Ashley took a vial of medigel, planting it into the side of Jane's neck. Shepard could feel the gel work into her body, numbing the pain in her back and side. Jane grunted as she pulled herself up into a sitting position.

"Hah… Thanks, Chief"

Williams couldn't help but look down into Jane's emerald eyes. It was now that Ashley realized just how _lost_ she could get in those eyes. She realized just _how_ much she had been in love with Jane, and just how _broken_ she would be if she lost her Commander a _second_ time.

It was another slip. Ashley tried to recompose herself, but the damage had already been done. Jane's eyes widened as she stared into Ash's chocolate-brown eyes. She may not have _known_ at that second, but Jane had to be able to tell _something_ was there, swimming behind her Lieutenant-Commander's eyes.

Ashley tore her gaze away quickly, cheeks blushing slightly.

"Yeah… don't mention it…"

"Ash-"

Jane couldn't form her question before a small 'clink' sounded beside them. They both looked over to see a flashing cylinder settle itself beside them. It began beeping.

" **Fuck**!"

Shepard grabbed Ashley's shoulder to pull the former Gunnery-chief, putting her body between ash and the grenade. Jane braced herself for the blast -only, one never came.

Liara biotically took hold of the grenade and flung it back at the final Centurion who threw it. His body was torn apart from the explosion, blood flying in all directions and onto the Cerberus Destroyer who didn't even flinch. His squad was finally gone.

"Hah! This band of idiots couldn't beat a sack of pyjacks! C'mon Shepard!"

The enemy Destroyer shouted and fired on Shepard and Ashley's position, completely ignoring Liara's warp blast. A costly mistake as Jane came out of cover to charge directly into him, causing another biotic explosion. Although it knocked the Typhoon rifle out of his hands, the commander shrugged off the explosion, his incredibly strong shields saving him.

He swung at Shepard to have her duck out of the way as she put a round squarely into his side. His shields held as he slammed his large fist into Jane's face. Liara came out of her own cover. How _dare_ this man lay a hand on _her_ Jane.

Liara pinned the commander to his spot, attempting to crush him inside his own suit. The Cerberus commander only laughed as his shields held firm and raised a hand. A red omni-tool formed on his wrist and held several grenades. Eyes widening, Liara only had half a second to remove her field on him to form a barrier around herself before he launched the grenades into the air to explode around her. The massive blast _shattered_ her shield and flung her through the air to slam into the large cargo crate behind her.

"Ash! Get to her!"

Jane shouted as she rose to her feet, putting another round into the Cerberus Destroyer's side before having her Katana knocked away. Jane struck at the Destroyer's chest before bringing her leg around to kick at his head. The blow was not only ineffective, the enemy didn't even _move_ as her shin struck into his helmet. He grabbed ahold of Jane's leg and raised his arm. Jane didn't have time to react as another omni-tool formed on his hand in the shape of a curved hook blade. With the hold on her leg and the power his suit gave him, it wouldn't be a difficult task to cleave through her armored leg.

His grip on Jane's shin faltered as he was hit with a concussive shot fired by Williams. She had gotten over to Liara's recovering form and began firing into the Destroyer's shields. He kept his balance and raised his other arm to launch another cluster grenade, only to have Shepard knock his arm sideways as he blasted the grenades to the side in another huge multi-explosion. Jane turned her body around, using the momentum to smash her elbow into his helmet and causing him to sway to the side. Another strong biotic warp latched onto him from Liara's position across the room as she also began firing her pistol at him. His shields finally began faltering as Jane ignited her barrier and slammed her fists into the Destroyer's chest, bringing his shields down with the resulting explosion.

He grunted in pain and swung his omni-tool weapon at Shepard again. Jane quickly ducked and formed her own omni-blade, plunging it into his side between his armor plates. The Cerberus commander coughed and grabbed at Jane's hand imbedded into his side and swung yet again at Shepard's head with his hooked omni-blade.

The strike didn't connect as Liara formed a biotic barrier around Jane's head, blocking the blow and keeping his arm in place as Shepard removed her pistol from her hip and fired into the Destroyer's gut.

He howled in pain and flung Jane away, stumbling and vision blurring. He couldn't regain his bearings as he was biotically lifted into the air and could only look over at Liara's form. Her biotics flared dangerously as she glared at him.

 _How dare he_ touch her Jane.

Without his personal shield to protect him, he was helpless as Liara snapped his arm backwards, breaking the elbow as it bent in the opposite direction it was supposed to bend. She did the same with his other arm. The Destroyer wailed at the searing pain in his arms, but kept his focus on Liara's and Ashley's position as his Hawk missile launcher fired another rocket at the duo.

Liara was forced to drop him as Williams tackled her to the ground, narrowly dodging the missile as it veered past them to explode on another cargo container behind them.

The Destroyer was about to fire off another rocket when Jane slammed herself into him in a biotic charge, forcing him to the ground. He looked up and saw the barrel of Shepard's retrieved Katana shotgun as she turned it to the side and shot off his missile launcher from his shoulder. Reloading, she aimed the weapon at his helmet as he began to laugh weakly.

"Hahah… You know… we brought you back –cough- for a reason…"

Jane sneered down at him.

" _He's_ smarter than you think… and he _always_ gets what he wants… Hah… hahah…"

The Destroyer's laugh tapered off into silence as he bled out on the floor, finally succumbing to his wounds. Had he not been trying to kill them, Jane would've admired his nearly indomitable strength.

Liara and Ashley came up to Jane's back. Shepard turned to her squad, stowing the Katana on her back as she quickly walked to Liara, placing her hands on her lover's face.

"You okay?"

Jane asked tenderly. Her voice wavered with emotion and it almost made Liara's eyes prickle with tears. Her own gloved hands came up to lay upon Jane's as she looked into emerald green eyes.

"Yes, I'm fine, my love."

Liara said in a hushed voice. Jane nodded, head bumping into Liara's slightly from their proximity. Liara quietly laughed as Shepard removed her hands and turned to place one on Ashley's shoulder.

"You alright, Chief?"

Ashley smiled as she looked at Jane's freckled face.

"A little banged up, but I'll live."

Jane patted her Lieutenant-Commander's shoulder as she gave Williams a look of her own.

'We'll talk later.'

Ash gulped as she read the gaze her Commander gave her. She knew she would have to face the music some time.

"The server should be directly through that door. We can access the data once we're inside."

Liara said as she pointed to the large metal door beyond the security checkpoint.

"Alright, grab whatever you need and be ready to move. A lot of people are counting on us."

The squad began making their way through the checkpoint, past the bloodied and burned corpses that littered the battlefield.


	6. Casualty

**Disclaimer: Most of the characters and all of the locations, technologies, concepts, etc that appear in this story are property of Bioware/EA.**

* * *

 **This is War**

'… Shepard.'

Jane and Liara whirled around, aiming weapons at the source of the sudden voice behind them. The blue glow of a holographic display depicted a man, dressed in a black suit with a cigarette between his fingers. His electric blue irises glared into Shepard's emerald orbs.

"Illusive Man, long time, no see."

Jane scowled at her previous employer. She knew it was just a hologram, but that didn't stop her from wanting to put a shot into his smug face. He turned to look at Liara.

'Doctor T'soni. A pleasure. I have to applaud you for your… curiously spectacular sacrifice of your resources in getting away from my agents. Smart, if a bit reckless.'

Liara smirked.

"The last time an interstellar shadow organization came after me, I took over the entire operation. Are you sure you want to run the same risk?

'Hardly. I'm not here for you. I'm here for _that_.'

The Illusive Man pointed past Shepard and Liara, to the large Prothean data server behind them. The server towered over them in the center of the room, emanating a dull green glow and humming silently.

'The Protheans left all of this to discover for ourselves, yet we've simply squandered it for some false ideal of inter-species cooperation.'

He turned his gaze back to Shepard.

'The Alliance has known about the archives for over thirty years… and what have they done with it?'

Jane holstered her pistol, glaring at the hologram.

"Is there a point to all this senseless violence? A lot of good people lost their lives on this base because of _you_!"

The Illusive Man shifted his glowing eyes to the server, a cold stare on his face as he took a drag from his cigarette.

'There will always be sacrifices for the end game. You should learn to accept that. The data within this server could hold the key to the quelling the Reaper threat.'

Jane could feel her anger rising steadily. This man was once her benefactor but seeing his mayhem here only led her to believe him to be crazy.

"I've _seen_ the sacrifices you've made already. You've turned your people into atrocities."

'Atrocities? Don't mistake my methods, Shepard. I am improving them, using my recourses to do what civil governments and militaries refuse to do out of an archaic moral obligation to keep the status quo.'

"There's a difference between making improvements and creating _monsters_!"

He took another drag on his cigarette, fixing his eyes on the console behind the duo.

'And _that_ has always been the difference between you and me, Shepard. You've always walked on the side of traditionalism, without seeing the path forward. Unable look _past_ the dead bodies before you. Your destruction of the Collector base proves that… Although, I will admit that your destruction of Aratoht was an admirable choice.'

Jane felt her biotics flare in anger as she began shouting at The Illusive Man. This arrogant man had the _nerve_ to bring up her actions in the Bahak system!?

"If there had been **any** other way, I would've taken it! You don't have the right to say _anything_ about Aratoht!"

Shepard felt a hand on her shoulder pad and soothing warmth spread through her consciousness. Jane's biotics receded back into herself as Liara began to speak.

"Earth is under siege _as we speak_. If you oppose the Reapers just as we do, we should be working _together_ instead of squabbling like this!"

Another drag on the cigarette and another haughty glare was shot in Liara's direction.

'I _do_ oppose the Reapers. But not in the same way you do. I know what you found buried in the data here, Doctor. I know that you see it as a weapon, but I see it as a _tool_. A way to _dominate_ the Reapers and channel their immense power!'

Jane shook her head, scowl deepening.

"Are you _out of your mind_? _Control_ the Reapers!?"

'This isn't a fight you can win, Shepard. Even with the Prothean schematic. They're more powerful than anything we've seen before."

Jane knew it was a longshot, but she had to try to get through to this madman before he ended up bringing all of them down with him in his insanity.

"Work with us! Give me control of your resources and I can guarantee they'll be destroyed. I've seen your forces at work. They'd be invaluable on the battlefield against the Reapers."

The Illusive Man scoffed at Shepard, giving her another spiteful stare.

'My 'atrocities' are suddenly good enough to fight with you? Hah. Even if I decided to work with you, you'd do better than most but the outcome will be the same. Besides, like I said, I don't want the Reapers destroyed.'

He took another drag and stared up at the Prothean server.

'I want to _use_ them to bring Humanity forward in the evolutionary process.'

Shepard wasn't even surprised at his answer. He has always been a power hungry zealot, disguising his intentions as being 'best for Humanity.'

"You've lost your mind. The Reapers will kill us _all_ if we don't stop fighting each other!"

'I don't expect you to understand, Shepard. And I'm _certainly_ not looking for your approval.'

The Illusive Man turned to view a figure behind him, unseen by Shepard and Liara.

'We brought you back for one specific task. And in essence, you've completed that task albeit with some discrepancies. But now, like a rusted tool your utility has come to an end. Your time has come and gone.'

They wouldn't be getting anywhere speaking to this man. Jane glared at the hologram again.

"Liara, I think we have something to download?"

Liara nodded and continued to work on the console.

'Don't interfere with my plans, Shepard. I will _not_ warn you again.'

Jane snickered.

"Duly noted."

"Shepard!"

The Commander turned to Liara, confused as the former archaeologist stared at the computer screen in shock.

"What is it?"

The Illusive Man smirked as his hologram faded away.

"The data, it's… it's being erased!"

Jane hunched over the console before the server.

"It's being downloaded locally, someone on-base is taking it-"

"HEY, don't move!"

They heard Ashley across the room.

"Step away from the console!"

The Lieutenant-Commander shouted as she neared a woman bent over a secluded access panel at the corner of the room. She fit the image of Doctor Eva Core: Short bobbed hair and a skintight white suit.

"Now-!"

Before she could move any closer, Doctor Core shoved her rifle aside and smashed her heel into Ashley's shoulder, knocking her off balance and to the ground. The traitorous Doctor activated an omni-blade to shove into the console before her, electrifying it and shutting the Prothean server down before bolting across the room at blinding speeds before Ashley could even raise her rifle again from the ground.

"She's got the data!"

"Stop her!"

Jane shouted as she gave chase to the Doctor.

* * *

Doctor Core smirked as she reached the roof of the Mars Archives. Harsh winds blew past as the sandstorm intensified. She looked back at Shepard, firing several shots from her pistol before boarding the nearby Cerberus shuttle.

Jane huffed behind her helmet as she tried firing her pistol at the ascending shuttle. They needed that data, otherwise they would have failed and Earth may as well have been _gone_.

"Damn it! James!? Normandy!? _**Anybody!?**_ "

Liara and Ashley came up behind the Commander, looking up to see the UT-47 descend from the sky, on a collision course with the white Cerberus shuttle.

"You're not going anywhere!"

James howled over the radio as his shuttle rammed directly into the enemy craft, forcing it back onto the roof of the facility in a violent explosion, knocking the squad away with the shockwave. The Alliance shuttle landed shakily down behind them, heavily damaged from the impact. Jane looked to Ashley as she headed over to Liara's position on the ground, helping her up.

"Normandy's en-route. They'll be here soon."

James said as he exited the shuttle.

"Hey, you alright?"

Ashley asked Liara as she tried helping her up. Liara grunted and her leg buckled. A large piece of shrapnel had lodged itself within the meat of her thigh.

"Ugh… I'll be fine, but we _need_ that data. All of this will be for nothing if we-"

A loud slam was heard behind them as the door of the wrecked shuttle launched to the side. From the flaming debris of the shuttle emerged the scorched form of Doctor Eva Core. Or what had been the Doctor at some point. Her appearance now was of a mechanical automaton, burned metal and polymers adorning its body.

Ashley shoved Liara to the side to draw her pistol, firing a shot before the android grabbed her hand, crushing the bones within her wrist and forcing her to drop the pistol. The Lieutenant-Commander tried to swing at the machine but found her knuckles bouncing off of the metal plating in its head. The robot's hand came up to latch on to the face plate of Ashley's helmet, easily lifting her up into the air.

" **Ash**!"

Shepard came around the back of the Kodiak, leveling her pistol at the android.

"Let her go!"

Eva turned its head to regard Jane briefly before bringing a hand up to its temple. Ashley struggled in its grasp.

"Orders?"

'… Begin.'

The personal display before its face flashed red as the machine turned to the wrecked shuttle.

"NO!"

Ashley's head was slammed into the side of the craft. She felt her vision blurring and the last glimpse she saw between the machine's fingers was Shepard staring in horror as she was slammed again into the metal wall of the shuttle, knocking her unconscious as her body went limp.

Jane open fired on the machine, putting several rounds into its face before sending a powerful shockwave out, forcing the android to stumble. Shepard charged into it, forcing it to the ground and viciously placing slug after slug into its face. After five shots, the robot finally stopped thrashing about.

The Commander rushed over to Ashley's unconscious body, grabbing her by the arm and pulling her frame onto her shoulders in a fireman's carry.

"Grab that thing! Bring it with us."

Shepard said to Vega as she made her way over to Liara's recovering form. She extended a hand and pulled the Shadow Broker up to her feet, clutching her injured leg.

'Shepard! We've got Reaper forces inbound; we _need_ to wrap this up!'

Joker's panicked voice sounded over their radios as the Normandy came to hover next to the roof of the facility. The dry-dock door opening to the squad. They made their way safely onto the Normandy as Reapers began descending onto the surface of Mars. Jane spared the facility one last look before heading back into the Normandy shuttle bay.

* * *

"What the bloody _fuck_ happened down there!?"

Alexis Kane asked as the group came into the Normandy medbay. She was finishing up bandaging her shoulder after applying disinfectant and medigel properly. They had lost contact after Shepard's team entered the facility. Now the Commander and Lieutenant strode in with Williams over Shepard's shoulder with a limping Asari at her side and Vega carrying some kind of burned android.

"Cerberus got to the server before we did. We managed to stop them from getting the majority of the information we need, in the form of that machine, there."

Liara pointed to the mech James deposited on a medical table as she hobbled over to the medigel station on the wall, procuring several vials.

"I'll assume you're Doctor T'soni. Major General Alexis Kane."

Kane extended her hand in greeting, but was brushed aside as Jane gently laid Ashley's body on the medical table. Alexis looked to Williams' battered face, swelled and bruised.

"Shite… what happened?

Jane didn't respond as she looked in despair to Ashley's unconscious form. For once in her life, Jane didn't know what to do. One of her best friends, who had _just_ begun to trust her again after two and a half years, almost _died_ today.

"Shepard, Ashley needs medical attention."

She could hear Liara say right in front of her over the table.

"We have to leave the Sol System!"

She stood motionless, observing her Lieutenant-Commander.

"Shepard!"

Jane jumped at the sound of Liara's shout and shook herself from her stupor.

"The... the Citadel is her best chance… Joker, set a course for the Serpent Nebula."

'Aye aye.'

Joker said over the Normandy intercom. Shepard sighed as she held Ashley's limp hand in her own.

"Hold on Ash…"

The Commander looked to Liara removing pieces of the white plating on her leggings, leaned up against the adjacent medical table. Jane walked over to her lover, removing her straps and buckles that held the armor together but leaving the piece pierced with the shrapnel in place.

"James, do what you can for Ashley."

Vega looked uncertainly over at Williams.

"I'm no PhD, but I'll try."

Shepard readied a vial of medigel and grabbed hold of Liara's leg, grasping the piece of metal shrapnel embedded inside. Jane turned toward Alexis.

"Grab her leg and steady her."

Kane nodded and took hold of Liara's injured leg, ready to keep it in place. Sparkling green eyes looked up to sapphire blue.

"This is gonna hurt…"

"I'll be fine, Jane."

The red-head gave a smile and gripped the metal shard. With a hard pull, Jane tore the shrapnel from Liara's thigh, violet blood spurting from the wound. The Asari gritted her teeth and couldn't stop a pained, high-pitched whine to sound from her throat as she supported herself with a hand clutching Jane's shoulder pad. Alexis quickly removed the white armor plate from her thigh and gripped it again, applying pressure to the wound and allowing Jane to stab the vial into her leg.

"You're okay… you're alright."

Jane whispered soothingly as she held Liara by her shoulder. The Shadow Broker pushed her face into the hollow of Jane's throat, inhaling the scent of her bond-mate that she so _sorely_ missed. The scent of soapy bananas (She could never say that silly Human word with a straight face), sweat, copper and _heat_. Liara extricated herself from Jane's throat to look into her emerald eyes, affection blooming as she finally let it sink in. _Her_ Jane was _safe_.

Alexis looked at the couple while reaching for the nearby disinfectant and bandages. It seemed that the Commander wouldn't just be fighting for Earth in this war. Loved ones were always a good motivator, and it warmed the Major General's heart to see something so precious survive in the chaos of battle. She began ripping the torn black fabric of the under-suit Liara wore to have better access to the wound as she readied the medical dressings.

"Commander, I am receiving a signal over the secondary quantum entanglement channels. I believe it is Fleet Admiral Hackett."

EDI stated over the intercom. Jane looked up from sapphire eyes. The Alliance was using the secondary QEC, which could only mean the Reapers were advancing faster than even _she_ had anticipated. They must have destroyed a good number of communication buoys already.

"Patch it through."

"I will forward it to the comm room."

Jane looked to the Major General.

"Take care of her. After you're patched up, see what you and EDI can learn from that thing."

Liara nodded as Jane ran out of the medbay to the central elevator. Liara looked after her lover. She knew things would get incomprehensibly worse, but for now she could take comfort in the fact that her Jane was alive and well.

The former archaeologist hissed in pain as she felt the distinct sting of disinfectant liquid make contact with her injured thigh.

"Sorry."

Liara looked down to Kane to see her dab a cotton pad into her wound.

"No, I'm sorry. I'm Liara T'soni, to answer your question from before."

The Asari smiled as she reached a hand out. Alexis returned the smile and took the gloved hand, shaking it firmly.

"No apologies necessary. I know what it's like to almost lose someone close."

The Major General said as she gazed over at Ashley's unconscious form, being treated for blunt trauma by Lieutenant Vega.

"I… apologize for asking but how… _bad_ was it? On Earth?"

Kane lowered her head as she rolled out the gauze bandages and began laying them onto the wound, tying them firmly to keep pressure on the damaged blue flesh.

"… Horrible. Thousands were lost within _seconds_. Entire cities were being _torn_ apart. My _home_ …"

Alexis managed to keep herself from choking up at the thought of the Reapers destroying Vancouver. She finished laying the gauze and began securing an air-tight seal to the wound to allow the tissue to heal.

"Admiral Anderson was right. The situation is going to get incredibly more desperate as time goes on… And now with Cerberus' involvement…"

Kane looked up to Liara, a grim expression marring her face.

"Were there any survivors from the Archives? Anyone with the last name 'Kinley'?"

Liara's sapphire eyes widened as they bore into the Major General's. Surely she couldn't mean Maria…?

"There… there was a Doctor Maria Kinley… but she…"

The look in the former archaeologist's eyes was all she needed for her answer. Kane lowered her head once more.

"Fuck… _fuck_... no…"

"General…"

Alexis stood up and ran a hand through long locks of graying hair. Liara could tell she was trying greatly to keep the tears from falling.

"She's… she _was_ … my niece."

"I'm so sorry…"

Kane had a hand on her forehead. She smiled sadly as she gently shook her head from side to side.

"She always loved studying alien cultures. I remember 'ria going on and on about your articles on Prothean society. She was _so_ excited to be working with you, last I spoke to her."

Liara looked down at the metal floor of the medbay.

"She was… a wonderful individual, bright and responsive. She worked as my assistant. We would stay up for hours discussing the Prothean data server, and their technology, how it was so integrated into their society."

Kane sniffed as she wiped at her eyes. Liara looked up at her glassy dark blue eyes.

"She died… protecting what she loved."

The Major General couldn't hold back as several salty droplets made their way down her cheeks. She should've been there. She shouldn't have been playing politician on the Alliance Council. She should've been _there,_ protecting her niece no matter how much she would protest.

"There's gonna be a lot more aunts and uncles mourning their nieces and nephews as this goes on."

James said darkly as he finished treating Ashley's trauma as best as he could for an Alliance marine.

"Which is why this needs to end, as soon as possible."

Alexis replied as the last of her tears dried up. The sooner they brought this war to a close, the less the galaxy would have to suffer because of it.


	7. Respite

**Disclaimer: Most of the characters and all of the locations, technologies, concepts, etc that appear in this story are property of Bioware/EA.**

 **Warning: This chapter contains relatively explicit consensual sexual relations between a Human female and a slightly not so Human female. If this bothers you, please feel free to skip this chapter in its entirety.**

* * *

 **This is War**

Jane sighed as she felt the warm water hit her toned body. After speaking with Admiral Hackett, they had agreed to try to appeal to the Council to garner help for Earth. Normandy was currently on course for the Sol Relay with an ETA of approximately one and a half hours, more than enough time to retreat to the familiar captain's cabin aboard for a long, soothing shower. By god, she _needed_ it.

Williams' condition was stable, but weak. According to Liara and James, the Lieutenant-Commander had sustained several shattered bones in her wrist and a severe concussion with cranial damage from the force with which she was slammed into a hard surface. Even the back of the casing on her helmet had cracked from the blows. She would live, but they needed to hurry to the Citadel. Jane would never be able to forgive herself if any permanent damage occurred to her friend under her watch.

 _Friend…_

The thought of Ashley made Jane's heart clench. She shouldn't have yelled at her. They were under _enough_ pressure as it were: Reapers occupying Earth, Cerberus attacking Alliance bases. It wasn't even two days into the invasion and things were already desperate enough to force them to call for the Council. Yet, as she stared forward at the metal wall before her, water rushing down her body, all she could think of was Ashley. Specifically, her _eyes_.

That look Ash had given her after she took a rocket to her back consumed her mind. There was _something_ behind those chocolate irises. Something she recognized. The same something she saw in Liara's own sapphire orbs. Jane's eyes widened as a hand came up to her mouth.

"Oh… Ash…"

Ashley _felt_ something for her. Why couldn't she have realized it earlier? Jane wasn't one hundred percent on it, but she knew something was there. She _needed_ to have that talk with Williams. They _needed_ to get to the Citadel.

Shepard was torn from her thoughts when she suddenly felt warm, smooth hands around her midriff. The feel of another bare body pressed up against her wet back and Jane could sense another consciousness tugging gently at her own. A puff of breath wafted out across her shoulder.

"Jane…"

The Commander smiled as she turned her head to the side to view the deep sapphire eyes of her lover. Shepard laid her hand on one of Liara's, intertwining their fingers as the other came up to softly grasp the back of the Asari's head.

Jane pulled Liara in for a gentle kiss. It wasn't a fight for dominance, or a burst of passion. The kiss was a simple touching of their mouths and tongues. Even without a joining link between them, Jane could _feel_ the immense relief and gratification arising from her lover through their kiss. Liara _finally_ had her Jane back, and Jane had her beautiful blue archaeologist back.

Shepard pulled away from the kiss to turn herself toward her lover. Just as she had seen it six months ago, Liara's body was the same glorious figure she remembered, albeit with some slight (delightful) changes. She wasn't quite as toned as Jane, but her body was lean and graceful, a slight hourglass figure showing just a hint of muscle beneath impossibly smooth blue skin. The same dark blue specks that adorned the bridge of Liara's nose were sprinkled adorably down her front.

Liara couldn't help but appreciate her bond-mate's own form: strong muscles were in abundance on the red-head's body, particularly in her shoulders, upper arms, abdomen and thighs. Her figure was just as feminine as her own, with light freckles adorning her skin. Liara _loved_ each and every patch of fleshy skin on Shepard's body since she had first seen it in all its glory two and a half years ago, often absentmindedly tracing scar tissue along her back or stomach.

It was one of the things she had sorely missed when she took another glimpse at her lover more than six months ago. The familiar scars she had memorized were gone thanks to the Lazarus project but in a way, it also gave Liara the chance to learn her Commander's body all over again.

The former archaeologist leaned forward, softly pressing her forehead to Jane's and allowing her eyes to go black. Shepard felt Liara's mind touch her own and ask for entrance, which Jane granted almost immediately.

In an instant, Jane felt everything that was _Liara_. She _saw_ everything that was _Liara_. Shepard could feel the loneliness Liara had experienced when she had begun her research on the Mars Archives, saw her various activities while residing within the facility -including the many private sessions she'd had of viewing certain video material in her office.

 _Naughty girl… I_ knew _you were spying on me._

Liara allowed a lax giggle to float from her lips.

 _Could you blame me…?_

Jane brought her arms up and around Liara's shoulders, pressing their bodies together as the spray of the water flowed down their figures.

 _I guess not…_

Shepard smiled as she moved forward, meeting Liara's blue lips with her own again. Their meld dove deeper into their minds, where more powerful emotions of lust and _want_ became more apparent. Jane allowed her hands to wander down her lover's sides, feeling her own sides tingling at the phantom sensation an Asari meld offered.

Liara rooted around Jane's consciousness; triggering pleasant memories of their more intimate moments when she happened upon a curious thought that made her remove her lips to stare into emerald eyes.

 _Ashley…?_

Jane lowered her gaze.

 _I know she…_

 _I do too._

 _When?_

 _At the tram station… after…_

 _I shouldn't have yelled at her…_

A thin, blue finger slid under Shepard's chin, bringing her emerald gaze to solid black irises.

 _We can't survive this if we can't trust one another._

 _I know…_

 _Deep down, she trusts you with her life._

 _Having her associate me with… that_ thing _… it was too much._

Liara placed her hands on Shepard's cheeks, holding her head gently.

 _Trust her to make the right decision. When she wakes, you'll have the chance to talk._

 _You're right… but for now…_

Jane pulled Liara in for a startlingly passionate kiss, allowing her to catch her Asari off guard and turn them around to pin her to the wall. Warm water flowed down their entwined bodies.

 _No Reapers…_

Jane's lips pressed across a cobalt jaw.

 _No Cerberus…_

Calloused hands ran over Liara's stomach, slowly inching their way downward.

 _No war…_

Liara was only vaguely aware of the kisses being laid into her throat as she failed to suppress a low groan.

 _Right now…_

Jane brought her lips to Liara's again, only millimeters of warm air separating them. Liara felt her mind almost overwhelmed by an incredible surge of joy and warmth and _love_. All from her bond-mate. All for _her_.

"… is _our_ time."

Liara couldn't hold back a long moan as Jane sealed their lips together in another long kiss. She simply couldn't remember being more happy in her life, a thought that filled Jane with no small amount of pride just as it passed through their minds.

Jane separated their lips slowly with an audible smack and began trailing downward, past a long blue neck, wonderfully protruding collar bones and to the center of Liara's chest where she held herself for a moment. The steady heart beat thumping beneath her lips filled her with a feeling so indescribable that even her lover had to shudder.

Shepard placed wet kisses upon the smooth expanse of a breast, making her way to the peak, where light cobalt faded into a dark navy as Jane looked up to see black eyes looking down into hers.

 _Jane…_

Shepard smiled as her tongue appeared to lap around the dark areola, without touching the quickly hardening tip. Liara whimpered and thrust out her chest, attempting to gain more contact with that lovely pink appendage. Jane had never been shy about her adoration of Liara's body.

 _Do you know how much I've missed these…?_

Jane placed a kiss into Liara's breast before latching onto a hardened nub, tongue lapping gently at the dark blue nipple while Liara gasped and breathed a heavy exhale. When they had first learned about each other's bodies, Liara's bust hadn't been even half the size it was now. The former archaeologist had attributed their growth to her mental and emotional maturation during her descent into the world of information brokering in her hunt for the former Shadow Broker. Jane had chuckled and suggested that perhaps they had swelled due to her not properly worshipping them for two years. Something she would need to rectify.

 _I would imagine… a great deal-_

" _Ahh_!"

Liara's thought was cut off as Jane allowed her teeth to graze the peak, dragging across rigid skin in a playful nip as she took the other nipple to roll between her thumb and forefinger.

 _There are a few more things I missed…_

Jane nipped and bit her way to Liara's taut stomach. She could feel the ticklish phantom sensation on her own belly button as she dipped her tongue into her lover's crevice. Shepard had always loved teasing Liara's belly button. The Asari language did not have a proper translation for that particular part of the body, which cause quite a fit of confusion when Jane first told her how adorable it was that she had an 'innie.'

 _I still find it puzzling how you enjoy touching it as much as you do._

Jane grinned up at Liara's purple tinted face, visible through the valley between her breasts.

 _It's because you make such cute faces when I do._

Shepard licked at the hollow of her lover's belly button –earning a quiet yelp from above- before moving down onto her knees, dragging her tongue across Liara's abdomen and hip bones. Jane's fingers trailed their way up wet calves and thighs, only to stop at the waterproof medical bandage adorning her left leg.

Jane frowned and leaned forward, kissing the wrapping and moving her lips upward. Shepard intentionally made her travel agonizingly slow and delighted in the deep growl she heard above as Liara's hips bucked at the touch of lips on her pelvis. The Commander felt herself growing increasingly wet as she made her way to her goal and snaked a hand downward to gently caress her burning core.

Shepard finally reached the Asari's azure, slick folds of extraordinarily soft flesh, blushing a dark violet as it dripped with shower water and pure _need_. Asari and Human female genitals were remarkably similar at a glance but did in-fact have their differences; one difference being muscle control, as made evident by the soft, sweet smelling folds opening and blooming in a way that resembled a flower. Jane couldn't find a more inviting sight if she tried.

Shepard licked her lips as she gave a soft kiss to the dark blue freckles just above before giving a long, slow lap from directly between her lover's thighs to the very top of her azure. Another difference was the _taste_. Asari fluid generally had a unique flavor, often being associated with Human fruits, though the specific taste depended upon the Asari (Luckily, Jane did happen to _love_ apples).

Liara grunted and muttered incoherently as she weaved a hand into Jane's wet crimson locks. She brought a hand up to cup a breast, fondling the blue flesh and spread her thighs to give Jane better access. She thought back to the video she had taken of Shepard in her shower and smiled blissfully as she found that her wish had come true. Shepard giggled below her.

 _My horny little Asari…_

 _I'm not the one who pleasured herself almost literally half the time during the past six months._

Jane grinned up at Liara as she gave a particularly rough lick, causing blue hips to buck into her face as her own core quivered at the ghost sensations.

 _Touché… well then, Ms. Archaeologist… let me show you one of_ my _favorite dig sites…_

Liara's eyes widened as a shuddering moan escaped her throat. Jane's tongue was suddenly _inside_ her azure, writhing around and teasing each crevice it could find. Yet another surface difference was the distinct lack of a clitoris. Although it would be more accurate to say that the entirety of the azure fulfilled the same sensory role. Erogenous zones differed from Asari to Asari like every other species, but there was an almost universal sensitivity to an Asari's azure.

The former archaeologist thrust her pelvis in time with the long strokes of Jane's skillful tongue as her other hand came down to swim in a sea of moist bronze hair. Shepard knew _every single one_ of Liara's weak points by heart, and she shook as she felt many of her own being caressed by the phantom sensations from their merged nervous systems. Jane's hand came up from between her soaked thighs to grab the trembling Asari's hips, reaching around to firmly massage the smooth wet skin just above Liara's backside. The reaction was instant and _intense_.

"A-ahhh! _Haaah_!"

One of Liara's more sensitive erogenous zones was her back dimples. Shepard had been absolutely _ecstatic_ when she had discovered this specific weakness. Many frisky moments aboard the SSV Normandy involved subtly rubbing the small of Liara's back, often resulting in her lover dragging her to the captain's quarters for a particularly aggressive 'private meeting.'

The thoughts triggered a wide array of memories that made Jane smile into Liara's azure as she shuddered along with her lover. The gushing fluids escaping Liara became more intense on her tongue and she could _feel_ desire ripple through her own body not only as a result of the meld, but at the simple thought of bringing so much _pleasure_ to her lover.

 _Goddess…_

Jane could see and feel the telltale signs of her lover's imminent orgasm. Liara's thoughts began unraveling themselves, twisting into inarticulate emotions and feelings as they wrapped themselves around Shepard's consciousness. She could feel the twisting and tightening of her lover's azure on her tongue and the sensations _almost_ sent her over her own edge, owing to the incredible effects of the meld. Jane took two unoccupied fingers and plunged them deep into Liara's trembling azure while deepening the massage on her love's lower back.

Liara's back arched off of the shower wall, abdominal and thigh muscles tightening as Jane's awareness was _flooded_ with everything that was _Liara_.

 _Jane!_

" _ **Aaahhaaah!**_ "

 _Fuck!_

" _ **Mmmmhhmm!**_ "

Shepard felt her own sympathetic orgasm rip through her as she moaned loudly into the clenching azure of her lover. Liara overwhelmed her consciousness just as Jane overwhelmed Liara's. For the briefest of seconds and the longest of moments, neither could tell where _Liara_ ended and _Shepard_ began. Thoughts and emotions melted themselves into each other as Liara slid to the floor, legs unable to keep herself standing. Jane's face fell into the Asari's shoulder as Liara quietly severed the joining link.

Irregular pants and soft groans emanated from the shower as the couple tried to catch their breath from their first shared orgasm in over _six_ months. Sticky wetness coated their thighs and Jane's face, slowly rinsing away with the warm water of the shower.

"Hah… w-wow…"

"Y-yes… I had almost… forgotten how… _intense_ … that could be…"

Jane sighed in bliss as she lifted her head, placing a soft kiss into Liara's temple before looking into magnificent sapphire irises. The love and devotion they found in each other's eyes _transcended_ their understanding of the words. In the end, they both knew.

Jane _belonged_ to Liara, and Liara _belonged_ to Jane. Neither time, nor war, nor chaos or battle could ever change that fact.

* * *

 **A bit of something to note, as I was writing this chapter, I came to an epiphany: The upper portion of the large bone in the pelvis is called the Ilium. I had to get up from my chair and pace around my room in order to process just how astonished I was that I hadn't realized it after all this time.**

 **Anyway, thank you for taking the time to read, and I hope you enjoyed. The next chapter will be up when it is up.**


	8. Meeting

**Disclaimer: Most of the characters and all of the locations, technologies, concepts, etc that appear in this story are property of Bioware/EA.**

* * *

 **This is War**

"Hey Ash…"

Jane walked through the threshold of the Lieutenant-Commander's room in Huerta Memorial Hospital. The smell of antiseptics, and sterile gloves and tools floated throughout the entire hospital. A dull metronome of quiet beeping from the heart-rate monitor filled the silence alongside Ashley's soft breathing. Williams' face was still beaten and discolored, purple splotches marring sections of her normally clear tan complexion. The rest of her face was wrapped in bandages.

Jane reached a hand out to touch Ashley's motionless fingers. Her wrist was bound in a tight medical cast and stasis field to allow the bones to heal properly.

"Just wanted to… check in on yah… see how you're doing."

Shepard breathed out a shaky sigh. She had spoken to Doctor Chloe Michelle just minutes before. She knew Ash would be in good hands, knew she would have her friend back soon. But looking at Ashley now, motionless and comatose, Jane felt her insides clench themselves _hard_ in pain and regret.

"I'm… sorry I yelled at you. I'm sorry for putting you in this situation… making you even more stressed than you should be in all this…"

Jane knew she was being silly. Ashley most likely wouldn't even hear her in this state, but that didn't stop her from gently gripping the Lieutenant-Commander's fingers a little harder.

"You're one of the closest things to a best friend I've ever had… and the best soldier I've had the pleasure of knowing. So get your ass in gear and get better."

Jane lowered her head, closing her eyes to keep them from misting over.

"Because we need you, Ash… _I_ need you."

The door to Williams' room opened to reveal Doctor Michelle and several nurses. Jane let go of Ashley's hand and turned to look at the former clinic owner. Jane activated her omni-tool to automatically send her e-mail address to the Doctor.

"If you need anything, if her condition changes, good or bad… don't hesitate to tell me."

The red-haired doctor smiled in empathy.

"Of course, Commander. Don't worry; she will be well taken care of here."

She replied in a heavily accented voice. Jane nodded and turned back to Ashley's unconscious form as the nurses began their preparations.

"Okay Ash… I'll see you soon. We'll talk when you're feeling better."

With a heavy sigh, Jane exited the room. She knew Ashley would get better, but just the thought of losing the Lieutenant -Commander sent a ripple of discomfort straight to her belly. However, as unpleasant as it was, Jane knew her next destination on the Citadel would no doubt prove to be far more of a headache.

* * *

"The cruel and unfortunate truth is that while the Reapers are occupied with Earth, we have a chance to prepare and regroup."

Just as Jane had predicted, the Council wouldn't lend their support in aiding Earth. Even the newly appointed Human Councilor Donnel Udina had next to no sway against the rest of the Council races. Liara shook her head beside Shepard as Alexis put a hand to her forehead in agitation. She _never_ enjoyed how the Council operated from the reports she got on Earth. Seeing it happen before her eyes, she now understood why Shepard had been apprehensive about their meeting.

"A war summit will be held amongst our species. Once our own borders are secured against the Reaper threat, we _may_ consider lending you our aid."

Jane scowled at Councilor Valern.

"I'm sorry, Commander… That is the best that we can do."

Councilor Tevos said, remorsefully as the Council took their leave.

"Shepard, meet me in my office."

Udina said with a disappointed sigh as he left as well. Kane shook her head in disbelief.

"You saved the Destiny Ascension two and a half years ago, hell, you saved the _entire_ bloody Citadel from one of those _things_ and this is how you're repaid."

The Major General may have understood why the Council reacted the way they did but just because she understood didn't mean she wasn't _pissed_ about it.

"Seems to be a running theme with all of my dealings with the Council."

Jane said as she turned toward Liara and Alexis.

"I'll be digging up whatever I can on this device, Shepard. Leave it to me and go speak with Udina. Hopefully you'll be able to work something out. I'll need to purchase a few things while we're docked here, however."

Shepard smiled at Liara, taking her gloved hand and placing a kiss upon its back. The Shadow Broker smiled as her consciousness reached out to briefly nudge against Jane's.

"I'll see you back on the Normandy, Liara."

The Shadow Broker nodded as she turned to leave the Council chambers. Alexis couldn't help but stare at the Commander.

"… You love her, don't you."

The Major General didn't state it as a question. Jane quietly chuckled as they walked down the steps leading to the large court.

"That obvious?"

"More obvious than a Salarian participating in a Krogan body building contest."

Her quiet chuckle turned into full laugh as they made their way to one of the elevators at the entrance of the Council chamber.

"The way you look at her when you're together is the biggest tell. Your eyes almost _sparkle_ when they meet hers. Almost makes me nauseous at how adorable it is, really."

"Yeah. I… wouldn't be myself without her."

Entering the elevator, Jane punched their destination into the holographic interface. The door slid closed as awkward, unfashionable music began playing.

"Do you have anyone close? Husband, wife, family?"

Kane hadn't been anticipating the question as she turned her blue eyes to Shepard.

"... I'm not so sure anymore. My sister was in London last I heard from her. My… niece was on the Mars Archives."

Jane's eyebrows rose as she observed Alexis' gaze descend to the floor.

"I'm sorry…"

The Major General shook her head, gray-blonde strands swaying slightly in front of her face.

"It's not your fault. If anyone is to blame, it's those damned _things_ and Cerberus."

"If I may ask, what was your niece like…?"

Alexis smiled as she recalled memories of… happier times, with her niece and sister.

"She was kind. Thoughtful, if a bit… fidgety. Her heart was always in the right place concerning others, Human or otherwise. She loved studying aliens, not their biology, but their culture; art, music, societal traditions and how they all shifted and changed over time."

Kane stared out at the presidium through the glass of the elevator before the duo.

"She was ecstatic when she received word that she would be working on the Archive project with Doctor T'soni."

"She worked with Liara?"

She smiled as she brought her sky-blue eyes back to Jane's emeralds.

"Yes, as her assistant, as far as I'm told. She had been obsessed with the Protheans for the longest time, read every single one of Doctor T'soni's articles over and over. She had them memorized word-for-word by the time she graduated."

Alexis let out a small laugh, closing her eyes and remembering Maria's smiling face. The thought made her eyes water at the fact that she wouldn't get to see those hazel eyes anymore. Jane placed a hand on the Major General's shoulder, squeezing gently in an attempt at comfort.

Kane righted herself as she wiped would-be tears from her eyes.

"What about your sister? You said she was in London. I'm sure she's still alive."

Alexis frowned, watching sky-cars zoom past as the elevator descended into the presidium.

"The last time we talked… wasn't exactly the most pleasant conversation. We had always been butting heads, ever since we were young but…"

Jane could see the subdued hurt and sadness behind Alexis' clear blue eyes. Kane shook her head again.

"I just hope she's alright. She's all I have left now…"

* * *

"They're a bunch of self-concerned _jackasses_!"

Udina's Irish accent boomed throughout his office.

"We have a seat on the Council yet they _still_ treat Humanity as second-rate citizens!"

Kane crossed her arms as she leaned on the nearby window while Shepard partially sat herself on the Human Councilor's desk.

"It's understandable at least. They're frightened, keeping the best interests for their people in mind."

Jane replied at the end of Udina's tirade. She _did_ understand where the Council was coming from this time. The Reapers were a visible and immediate threat to every advanced species in the galaxy. They _would_ be fools throw all of their resources into something that even _she_ didn't know fully about. Though, at the same time…

"It's that kind of thinking that's going to end up getting us all killed. If we can't unite ourselves against a common enemy, we may as well put guns to our heads and save the Reapers the trouble."

Kane finished Shepard's thought for her. She was right.

"Humanity has always been synonymous for stubborn across the galaxy. I'm surprised to see you giving up so easily."

Councilor Sparatus announced as he entered the office.

"Councilor, we weren't told to expect you."

Sparatus regarded Udina briefly before turning to Shepard.

"I'm here to extend a… what is the Human saying… a 'grape branch'?"

The Turian shook his head. Why did Humans always have such nonsensical expressions?

"I cannot get you the resources you need… but I know another way for you to obtain them."

Jane's ears perked up as she approached him.

"I'm listening."

"The current Primarch of Palaven, Elleris Fedorian originally called the war summit that Valern mentioned. However, we have not received any word from the Primarch since Reaper forces were sighted entering Turian space."

Sparatus looked out of the office window to the Presidium.

"Those meetings won't proceed without him. The Normandy is outfitted with the stealth technology that can move in and extract him."

Kane moved from her spot on the wall to stand beside the Councilor.

"You want us to participate in the war summit."

The Turian turned to Alexis, a smile in his eyes.

"Yes. If you can rescue the Primarch, he'll owe you a debt of gratitude."

Jane watched as the Councilor walked to the center of the office. She wasn't quite as familiar with the Turian Hierarchy as she should have been, but if the position of Primarch meant was she thought…

"The leaders of this summit will ultimately decide where and how our fleets fight. If you can get the Primarch on your side-"

"It'd be the foundation we'd need to begin solidifying a united effort against the Reapers."

Jane completed Sparatus' sentence for him. It was a smart plan, in all honesty: bypassing the Council completely to appeal directly to the central leadership of the other races.

"There is a less than popular Turian saying that I find appropriate for this situation, Commander: If you can't get what you want, then you're not trying hard enough."

"Heh… I like it."

The Councilor turned and began walking toward the door, only to stop himself.

"Also, we have agreed to uphold your SPECTRE status. You'll find many valuable resources and equipment within the offices across the way. And…"

Sparatus looked down at the floor for several moments before making eye contact with Shepard's green orbs.

"I want to… apologize. For the many times I've acted… antagonistic towards you. I don't hate you, Shepard, and neither do Tevos or Valern. We were _wrong_. Just try to understand where we must sit on the matter."

Jane's eyes widened. She hadn't expected to receive help from Sparatus of all people, much less a personal apology _from_ Sparatus.

"My thoughts are with Earth. Good day."

Without another word, the Turian Councilor turned on his heels and strode out of the office.

"That went… swimmingly."

Kane said, perplexed at the exchange. She never thought she'd see a Turian offering help to Humanity, especially the _Councilor_.

"At least it's something. Udina, can you-"

"I'm already twenty steps ahead of you, Shepard. I'm going to do whatever I can, talk to whoever I can to speed up this process."

The Human Councilor said as he returned to his desk. Jane breathed a sigh of relief. She had never agreed with Udina (the man was a complete _ass_ as far as she was concerned) but he knew how to maneuver on the political battlefield.

"Thanks. Hopefully this stunt will work and we'll be another step closer to putting a stop to this."

Shepard turned to Alexis, a smirk on her face.

"Well, let's go save a Primarch. If you're willing to join us, get whatever you need on the Citadel and head for the Normandy. I expect us to ship out within an hour."

Alexis nodded her head, gray-blonde strands bouncing before her eyes. She would speak with Admiral Hackett to have her reassigned to the Normandy. Besides, she _did_ have a promise to keep, after all.

"I'm with you, Commander."


	9. Resolute

**Disclaimer: Most of the characters and all of the locations, technologies, concepts, etc that appear in this story are property of Bioware/EA.**

* * *

 **This is War**

 _Shepard…_

Where was she? Dark foliage littered the ground before her feet. Black barked trees stretched up to the skies above. A thick fog laid itself across the land as grim clouds traveled overhead.

 _Shepard…_

Jane turned around to see what was calling her. Inky black effigies in the form of Humans floated before her. Faces made themselves visible for brief seconds before fading away with a gentle breeze. The sound of laughing children echoed faintly in the distance. Where was she?

 _Shepard…_

She turned again to see a face she thought she would _never_ see again. A face that wasn't Human.

 _No… I…_

 _Shepard… It's your fault._

 _I'm sorry… I did what I could…_

The face multiplied into countless more shadowy figures, moving toward her.

 _You killed us…_

Jane fell to her knees, gray and brown leaves springing up from the ground.

 _I tried… I had to make a decision…_

 _You slaughtered us…_

 _I_ saved _Elysium!_

 _You sacrificed us…_

Hands came up to cup her ears as tears ran down her freckled face. Eyes were all around her. Watching her.

 _You're a murderer…_

 _Please…_

 _You're a killer…_

 _Stop… please…_

 _Why should you live…_

Jane felt hands grasping her throat, crushing her windpipe and asphyxiating her.

 _When we_ died _._

 _Please…_

She looked forward as her vision began blurring. The boy on Earth. His cold stare pierced her eyes. In an instant, he was set aflame.

 _You watched us die…_

 _Shepard… Shepard…_

"Commander Shepard?"

Jane woke with a start, breath heavy and face covered in a light sheen of sweat.

"Commander, Liara would like to speak with you."

"Just… just give me a second, EDI…"

Jane quickly rose up from the bed, putting on a pair of boots as she made her way over to the private bathroom. With a quick splash of tap water to her face, Shepard walked over to the entrance to the captain's cabin, opening the door to find a familiar blue face staring at her.

"Liara… Anything I can do for you?"

The Shadow Broker could see the weary look in her Commander's eyes and the way her mind tiredly dragged itself across her own.

"I've forwarded any and all information I could find on the device to the Turian Councilor… We've deduced that it simply can't be built by the Alliance alone. We need this summit…"

Liara watched as her Commander's eyes shifted to the steel walls around them, sleepy and unfocused.

"Shepard… Is something the matter?"

Jane stalked over to the railing beside the central Normandy elevator. Liara came up behind her, placing a hand on her shoulder. Shepard felt her lover's hand through the white Alliance tee adorning her upper body and took comfort in the warmth it generated.

"The nightmares have been coming back recently…"

Liara's eyes broadened. The last time she had experienced one of Jane's more intense nightmares had been _horrifying_. The former archaeologist knew of her actions on Elysium. She _saw_ her actions within Shepard's mind and had instantly come to understand why they hounded her almost every night since. There is only so much the mind can take before it begins regurgitating unpleasant memories.

"Jane…"

Liara closed her eyes and gently prodded at her Jane's consciousness. Shepard allowed her inside and Liara could see the images inside of her Commander's head. She saw the dead bodies littering the fields before her, terrible smells of charred flesh and bone in the air. Batarian slaver ships in the skys above, destroying buildings and the people within them. They slowly morphed into the horrid metallic forms of the Reapers. The scene shifted to the Alliance Vancouver base.

Enormous Reapers towered over her as she could hear screaming and gunfire in the streets below. Liara slowly severed the link, eyes watering as she looked into emerald green pools.

"Oh… Jane…"

Liara brought her arms up to hug her Commander from behind. This woman had been through so much. She had gone above and beyond the call of duty, and she had to do it again in a war that they could have, at the very least, been more prepared for if those in power had only _listened_ to her.

The elevator opened behind them.

"Commander, I'm comm Specialist Sam- oh!"

Liara removed herself from her Commander's back as they turned around to view a new face on the Normandy. Black shoulder-length hair framed dark skin and darker brown eyes.

"I-I'm sorry! Am I interrupting something?"

Liara looked back to her Jane and smiled, squeezing thin pale fingers as she began to make her way to the elevator.

'We'll speak later'

Shepard nodded as she read her Asari's gaze.

"I was just leaving."

Saluting, the Specialist reintroduced herself to her new C.O. with a nervous waver in her eyes.

"Commander! I'm comm Specialist Samama- _Samantha_! Traynor, Alliance R &D. I-I was part of the team outfitting the Normandy retrofits when the Reapers hit, we had to leave immediately or the ship would've been a pile of rubble-!"

"Slow down, Specialist! Take a breath, you're doing fine."

Jane interrupted Traynor's babbling with an open hand and a tired smile. Catching herself, Samantha took her Commander's hand and shook firmly, cheeks blushing a dark crimson.

"Sorry… I've always worked in labs; three years ago I never dreamed I would be serving on the most advanced ship in the Alliance. Much less under the great Commander Shepard."

Shepard allowed a wry laugh loose from her throat as she brought the Specialist into the captain's cabin.

"I'll assume you're here to brief me on the retrofits?"

"Ah! Yes here…"

Traynor handed Shepard a small data pad and began explaining the various changes to the Normandy –including an 'interesting' exchange with EDI concerning voices. All the while, Samantha had to keep the stubborn blush from her cheeks.

* * *

"Try not to break his nose, Commander! All the mirrors aboard wouldn't be able to handle it if something happened to that pretty face!"

Lieutenant Steve Cortez shouted across the Normandy shuttle bay with a grin as he observed his Commanding Officer and Lieutenant James Vega begin their sparring match. It was nice to have Shepard visit all the way down on the bottom deck.

"I know you'd be heartbroken, Esteban!"

James shot back his snarky reply with a smirk as he began swinging at Jane. Shepard easily blocked the two straight punches as she retaliated.

"You and Lieutenant Cortez close?"

Vega fired two more punches at Shepard, only hitting thin air as the Commander backed away and moved in again.

"Yeah, did me a few favors back on Fehl-Prime. While I was with my old squad."

"Really, who'd you run with?"

Jane asked as she let loose her own barrage of fists, slowly working off the weariness that still claimed her body during her tour of the Normandy.

"Delta Squad, led by Captain Toni. You kinda remind me of 'im. He was one hell of a hard-ass but he knew how to lead a team."

Another jab was blocked by the Commander, slightly harder than the previous strikes, Jane noted.

"Was?"

"Was. K.I.A. along with most of Delta, protecting the colony from a Collector attack!"

James said in a raised voice as his stance shifted and he began a more aggressive attack on Shepard. His eyes narrowed, trying to find a weakness in Jane's defense when he felt the familiar frustration bubble up within his stomach.

"And the rest of the Colony?"

"Gone. We had intel on the Collectors, intel that could've been used to find 'em and kill 'em! I had to choose, either the colony, or the intel. Guess which one I picked."

Jane stepped forward to land a glancing blow on Vega's scruffy cheek. It did no real damage but the hit only worked to fuel James' anger.

"Sorry… that's a tough call."

"A good soldier follows orders without question, right?"

A humorless smile pulled at his mouth as he began to push forward, each blow blocked or dodged as Shepard danced around him with ease. Several crew mates gathered around the duo as their spar turned into something more fierce than intended.

"Wanna know the best part? We didn't even _need_ the intel! 'Cause while the Alliance was sitting with their thumbs up their asses, you were out there fighting 'em yourself!"

It dawned on Jane why the Lieutenant was angry. She _had_ heard about the actions of Delta squad in the brief weeks before and after her mission to the Bahak system.

"You can't blame yourself for something beyond your realm of control, Vega! Let it go."

"And who the hell says I'm blaming myse-Oof!"

James allowed his guard to drop just enough for Jane to land an actual punch on James' cheek, bruising the tanned flesh.

" _I_ do! That move you pulled on Mars was not only reckless; it endangered yourself, my team and our mission! I don't care how much you want to atone for a mistake you didn't make. I need you to _think_ a bit more before you do something stupid!"

"Or maybe I'm just willing to do whatever the _fuck it takes_ to end thi-!"

Jane smashed her fist into Vega's face, breaking his nose, and then ducked to sweep a leg out into his. James toppled to the ground as Shepard placed her knee onto his throat, squeezing softly.

"We're not ending this war with wild stunts that put the mission at risk! If you're half the soldier you think you are, I need you _alive_ and willing to follow my orders! Understand, _Lieutenant_?"

"Ergh… Yeah, thanks for the pep-talk, Commander…"

The crowd dispersed as Shepard reached out a hand to help James up, steadying him from his slight daze.

"Let's get you up to the medbay. Doctor Chakwas'll fix you up."

Vega nodded as he held his bleeding nose. They made their way to the armory section of the shuttle bay before Vega turned with a grin on his face.

"Thanks for the dance, Lola."

Jane turned to the Lieutenant, holding her aching knuckles. James' face was just as thick as his ego, apparently. It felt like she had punched a solid wall of granite.

"Lola?"

"You kinda look like a Lola."

Jane chuckled as she stepped over to the armory to lean against the equipment procurement terminal.

"Hah, you're lucky you're cute. So I'll let it slide. _For now_."

"Aw, don't make me blush now."

They turned to enter the elevator, but not before Steve came up next to James to snicker in his face and tease him. Vega replied by shoving him away with a defeated smile on his lips.

* * *

"Major General, did I hear you correctly?"

Hackett asked through the holographic interface.

'Absolutely. I want to be involved in this operation, Admiral. If it is acceptable, I would like to remain on the Normandy.'

"May I ask why?"

Kane looked down at her feet and back up to his bearded face.

'Permission to speak freely, Admiral?'

"Granted."

Alexis took a breath before continuing.

'I've _never_ enjoyed my position. I would prefer to work in a smaller team, more personal. If it means a demotion, then I'll gladly take it.'

Hackett shook his head, holding a stare at the Major General.

"Alexis... We both know it can't just be that. Come clean with me. After what we've been through, and what we're facing now, there's no time for distrust between us."

Kane lowered her head again. The man was right. This was hardly the time for secrets and subterfuge among allies. She brought her gaze back up to her Fleet Admiral.

'Alright, Steven... but this can't leave this communication channel. Do I have your word?'

Hackett smiled at his friend and nodded his capped head.

* * *

Jane walked into Liara's office. According to Traynor, the Shadow Broker had claimed the old X.O. office as her own shortly after moving a large amount of equipment onto the Normandy. And it showed, as Jane looked at the numerous display screens, terminals, servers and data pads that littered the space in a chaotically organized pattern.

"Well, you certainly weren't kidding when you said you needed a few things from the Citadel…"

A holographic sphere bounced forward toward the Commander.

"Hello Commander! It is a pleasure to see you again."

"You brought your little helper?"

Liara smiled as she made her way from the bed to where Jane stood.

"Doctor T'soni now refers to me as 'Glyph' instead of 'info-drone' ninety-five percent of the time."

"He's been extremely helpful with maintaining the network. He's also been useful in categorizing all of the information we've found on the Reapers so far. I've been compiling files on the device as well."

Liara turned to the central console at the center of the room, tapping a few keys and causing the entire array of screens before them to read off massive amounts of data about the Prothean weapon. Jane came up behind Liara, resting her chin on her lover's shoulder as she looked down at the screen.

"Do we even know how it'll fire off? What type of weapon is it, exactly?"

Liara pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes. Uncertainty washed over Jane as a familiar mind snaked its way out to caress her own.

"I'm still not sure. We're still piecing the schematic together but I've come to the conclusion that, if properly assembled, it has the ability to put out _massive_ amounts of power. I've forwarded everything I've uncovered to Admiral Hackett and Councilor Sparatus. Sparatus still won't budge until his Primarch is confirmed to be safe aboard the Normandy."

"Speaking of; have you heard anything about this Primarch?"

Liara shook her head in the negative.

"I know that he was last seen making his way to Palaven's largest moon, Menae. I've received reports of heavy fighting going on there. Hopefully he's either still alive or someone will be there to replace him, as per the Turian Hierarchy succession guidelines."

Shepard hummed as she buried her face into Liara's shoulder, taking pleasure in breathing in her lover's scent of soft lilac. She weaved her arms around Liara's waist, only to have the former archaeologist catch her right hand, inspecting it.

"What in the name of the Goddess happened…?"

Jane smiled sheepishly as Liara turned her red-haired lover's hand over. Shepard's knuckle was bandaged up heavily. She had a hairline fracture in her fourth and fifth metacarpal according to Doctor Chakwas (who had begun to jokingly regret coming back aboard the Normandy).

"I had a… 'talk' with our Lieutenant Vega."

Liara shook her head as she brought the hand up to kiss the white bandages.

"You always did enjoy hitting things. I'll assume he's fine?"

"He'll live. Just had to let him know exactly how I felt about his little stunt on Mars."

Liara cradled Shepard's hand in her own.

"You know, without him we wouldn't have the data…"

"I know… but because of him, _you_ got hurt."

Jane said ruefully as her other hand went down to touch Liara's left leg, just above the steadily healing wound in her thigh. The Asari placed her hand above Jane's, gripping it softly and bringing it up to join it's bandaged twin within her gloved fingers. Liara's eyes went black as she asked yet again for entrance. Jane chuckled and allowed her in again.

 _You know, you don't need permission._

 _Jane…_

Liara turned to face Shepard fully, weaving her arms around a slender waist.

 _What is it?_

 _Things are going to get so much worse…_

Jane bowed her head.

 _I know._

 _Are you sure you want to continue this?_

 _What?_

Shepard looked back up into solid black pools, confused and curious.

 _Of course I do. I_ _made a promise… remember?_

Flashes of the Normandy captain's cabin filled their shared consciousness. A dinner, glasses of wine and soft music. Visions of tears, both grateful and fearful for the future. Memories of pleasant sighs and longing moans. Reassurances and warmth.

 _You did…_

 _And I fully intend to keep it._

 _If you're su-_

 _Liara._

The look in Jane's eyes pierced directly into the innermost reaches of Liara's mind. The Shadow Broker couldn't even resist (not that she'd want to) when Jane came forward to seal her pink lips with Liara's dark blue lips. Explosions of desire and passion ignited between their minds and Jane could _feel_ Liara's consciousness writhe and twist into her own in a delicious dance of pleasure and _need_.

They separated with a soft _pop_. Emerald green bored into black, slowly receding back to regular sapphire blue.

"Okay… okay."

Jane smiled at the familiarity of the situation.

"Okay."

"Excuse my interruption, Commander Shepard, Doctor T'soni."

Jane sighed in irritation as they turned to view the holographic form of Glyph floating up to their faces. Liara smiled awkwardly.

"He does that from time to time… What is it, Glyph?"

"I felt the need to inform you that there is an unidentified life form living inside the engineering deck. Scans indicate that it is not dangerous."

Jane raised an eyebrow and looked back at Liara.

"Perhaps we should go see what it is…"

* * *

" _Damn it_! Boo! Get back here!"

The duo rushed down to engineering, following glyph to the bottom of the deck where many supplies had been stored during the Normandy's retrofits (Jane had even managed to locate some of her model ships).

"Boo! I'm not going to hurt you, just let… me… gra- augh!"

Jane lunged at the mischievous space hamster only to trip over a small crate and fall over. Liara shook her head and smiled widely at the humorous scene before her: Commander Shepard, one of the most feared, dangerous and powerful beings in the galaxy, the _first_ Human SPECTRE was chasing and trying to catch a small hamster.

"C'mere yah little… damn it!"

 _Failing_ to catch a small hamster.

"A little help, please?"

Jane looked up at Liara, a pleading look in her eyes as she was bent over another crate to get better access to one of the hamster's hiding places (which had given sapphire eyes a rather pleasant view of a clothed, muscled behind).

"I don't know, perhaps we should follow this creature since he's so adept at outmaneuvering the savior of the galaxy."

Liara teased. Jane pouted and returned to her search for the elusive rodent, muttering something about receiving no respect on her ship. Liara chuckled and bent down, holding out a hand and biotically feeling around a small crevice where she had seen the creature take refuge.

Gently latching on to a small ball of fur, Liara pulled the hamster out of the small space. It was squeaking adorably as it floated weightlessly through the air and was deposited into a gloved hand.

"There, there little one… It's alright now."

Liara cooed to the small pet. Jane turned fully and sat on the crate to watch her lover stroke Boo's small head with a gloved finger. Liara had always been fond of animals, specifically the many breeds of animals with fur that Earth offered in abundance.

Liara giggled as Boo nibbled the pad of her finger.

"Don't you worry, little one. The big scary red monster won't hurt you."

Liara looked to the red monster in question, only to find her lover staring hard at her and Boo, a grim expression on her face.

"Shepard?"

"It's almost time."

The Commander said as she got up from her crate. Liara stood, gently handing Boo to Jane and placing a small peck at the corner of her lover's mouth.

* * *

Boo stared out of the clear glass of his case, placed back on the familiar shelf of the captain's cabin. Jane came out of the bathroom, steam wafting off of her toned form as she finished drying off. She put a hand into her moist bronze hair.

"Commander, as per your request, ETA to the Apien Crest is t-minus ten minutes."

"Thank you, EDI."

Jane walked over to the clothing storage compartment, retrieving a bra, an undershirt, panties and a freshly pressed Alliance officer uniform.

The Commander walked out of the central elevator, fully dressed and ready. Specialist Samantha Traynor and several other crew members saluted as she made her way to the galaxy map at the center of the C.I.C.

From her position at the raised platform, Jane could see Flight Lieutenant Jeffery Moreau in his pilot's chair, turned toward the C.I.C. behind him. His bearded face smirked at Shepard as he gave a tip of his cap to his Commander and returned to his pilot duties.

Jane smiled and brought up a holographic interface before her, accessing the audio system. EDI's voice rung out around her.

"The intercom is yours, Shepard."

Jane let out a breath.

'You all know why we're here.'

Every ear on the Normandy perked up as they heard the voice of their Commander.

'Earth is under siege. I will not lie to any of you, you deserve the truth; our world is being _torn apart_ as I speak.'

Engineer Gregory Adams looked up from his panel in the engine room.

'Our enemy is unlike _anything_ we've faced before. The Reapers will stop at _nothing_ until every organic being in the galaxy lies dead at their feet.'

Medical specialist Doctor Karin Chakwas took a sip from her glass of wine, face hardened.

'Right now, families are being ripped asunder. Cities are burning.'

Sweat dripped from James' haired chin as he began performing his normal regime of push-ups, albeit quicker than his normal speed.

'There _will_ be casualties. There's no getting around that. Many will die, but many _more_ will be saved by our actions, here and now.'

Cortez checked the contents of the armory one more time, making sure every weapon was in place and in correct order.

'We will show them that the inhabitants of this galaxy will _not_ go quietly. We will _fight_!'

Traynor looked up from her terminal at her Commander, beaming with confidence.

'We will fight for _every_ _single_ inch we can! We will meet them on every theatre of war we can, give _everything_ we are for one more breath!'

Liara looked out of her window to the endless expanse of stars before her, sapphire eyes set in a hard gaze.

'If we are to go down, we will not go down screaming. We will go down _shouting_! We will _make_ them fear us!'

Major General Kane polished the barrel on her recently purchased Widow anti-material sniper rifle within the port observation lounge.

'Because who's like us!?'

A loud and unfaltering response resounded all throughout the SSV Normandy SR2.

" _ **DAMN FEW!**_ "

Alexis loaded a fresh thermal clip into the rifle.

"… and they're all dead."

* * *

 **Thank you all for reading and your kind words. While I am primarily writing this for my own pleasures, it warms my heart to see so many reading and enjoying this.**

 **This chapter was originally supposed to be part of the previous chapter, but I felt it went on for too long so I snapped it in half and modified the results.**

 **Anyway, I hope to have you join me again soon.**


	10. Retrieval

**Disclaimer: Most of the characters and all of the locations, technologies, concepts, etc that appear in this story are property of Bioware/EA.**

* * *

 **This is War**

"Vakarian! Get that thing the _hell_ off my men!"

General Adrien Victus shouted over gunfire and energy blasts. The base camp they had set up was being hammered on all sides by these… _things_. _Monsters_ with the faces of Batarians, mangled Turians with metal and cybernetics, enormous and terrifying amalgams of Krogan bodies with Turian heads, welded together with robotics. All the while, staggeringly gigantic machines towered over them in the backgrounds, silently overseeing the battle as if it were some _game_ while Palaven _burned_ behind them. Was this the force the Reapers commanded? They were relentless and uncompromising.

And they were _winning_.

"Affirmative! Talon squad, focus fire on that bru- damn it!"

Garrus yelled back as an explosion set off several feet in front of him. Out of the smoke came the twisted, distorted form of a Turian. Muscle tissue was visible, sections of armor broken, revealing sparking synthetic innards where organic tissue was supposed to be present. Garrus was reminded vaguely of what Sovereign transformed Saren into during the battle of the Citadel. Shining optics blinked to life as it began advancing on the former C-sec agent.

Garrus raised his M-97 Viper sniper rifle, firing a shot into the monster's head, cutting through its shields and entering cranial bone. He looked on as the thing reeled back, but continued forward, arm raised with a serrated combat blade in its three-digit hand. Garrus stepped to the side, narrowly dodging the knife as he pushed the barrel of his rifle into its chest, firing another shot.

Without missing a beat, the mangled Turian shoved the Viper away and lunged forward. Garrus grabbed the armed hand as it was inches away from his head. With strength honed and sharpened from years of training and service, Garrus turned the knife away, redirecting it into the enemy's throat and shoving it away to dive for his rifle. Quickly taking aim, the Turian couldn't even take a shot at the thing before a blade came through its skull and another through its neck.

With a twist, the monstrosity's head was ripped from its shoulders. Gray fluids sprayed onto Garrus' prone form as its body crumbled to the ground.

"Get your ass up, Vakarian. You can rest when you're dead."

Retracting poison-coated claw blades, a hand came down to help Garrus up. Its owner was a Turian Female, clad in sleek silver body armor.

"High-Sergeant Ankara! Where's the rest of your platoon? We need more bodies here!"

The female turned to salute her General.

"I'm all that's left of Wraith cabal, Sir! The northern F.O.B. is being overrun!"

Victus growled as he looked out at the battlefield on Menae. Defenses were quickly falling apart as cannibals and husks threw themselves at his forces in droves. His troops were _dying_ before his eyes. Never had he faced an enemy like this before. They _needed_ reinforcements and soon. Palaven won't last long without this moon.

"Vakarian, get to the command outpost and see if they can spare any more men. Ankara, accompany him and make sure he doesn't die, _after_ you take that _fucking thing_ _ **down**_! Our left flank is barely holding together as it is!"

The Turian General pointed furiously at the large beast-like monster currently ripping through an entire unit of soldiers. Chunks of muscle and meat slopped off of its hefty frame with every movement. The thing's head was the upper portion of a Turian skull, soldered into a spinal cord and grafted onto the carcass of a mangled Krogan body. Garrus nodded his spiked head and turned toward his companion.

"You ready to get your hands dirty, Kassaran?"

The High-Sergeant scoffed boorishly and pushed past the former C-sec officer. Green-tipped blades extended from her gauntlets with a sharp _snnk_ as they began their advance on the brute. Garrus fired a concussive round at the beast, gaining its attention as it let out a metallic snarl and moved toward the duo using its large claw-like arm as support for its relatively small legs.

Walking calmly up to the grotesque enemy, Kassaran ducked a clawed swing from the brute. In the space of a quarter of a second, the High-Sergeant raised her arm to impale the kinetic blades into the beast's arm as it swung, slicing through the metal and flesh with ease and removing the bottom portion of the claw-hand to clatter onto the ground. The venom from the blades quickly went to work, corroding all muscle tissue and metal fibers it came into contact with.

The brute roared in pain as a sniper rifle shot rang out. A bullet was imbedded into its right eye socket, temporarily blinding it as Garrus launched a proximity mine to latch onto its exposed chest. The resulting explosion weakened its armored hide and staggered it for enough time to allow Ankara to rush in and stab her blades into the beast's gut, slicing outward and tearing its belly open to reveal rotted and blackened innards as they poured onto the dirt of Menae in a disgusting waterfall of viscera.

The brute clutched its torn stomach, swinging again at the cabal warrior only to hit air. The former C-sec officer shot another slug into its exposed spinal column, forcing the brute to wail in anger and pain. Kassaran leapt up upon the monster's back, slicing wildly at the damaged spine and finally tearing it out of the main body. The beast flailed about, unable to see where or what it was trying to attack as Kassaran launched herself off of its back and landing before Garrus.

Smirking, Ankara held up the brute's head in her hands, watching the cybernetic eye blink several times as the body dug its heels into the dirt. After a small moment, it charged, sprinting at surprising speeds at the High-Sergeant with the remains of its claw-hand extended. She brought her gaze to the incoming body, cocky smirk ever-present as her own body biotically dematerialized into nothingness. Behind her afterimage, Garrus lined up a shot down the gaping hole where its spine used to be and lodged a slug directly into its heart. The beast stumbled and fell in a heap, sliding on the dirt to Garrus' feet, dead.

The High-Sergeant came up around Garrus' side to toss the skull on top of the heap of metal and flesh. She turned around to yell into the soldiers behind them.

"Plug this hole, now!"

Several Turian soldiers brought steel barricades to reinforce the battalion's left flank behind the duo.

"How far is it to the command base?"

Ankara asked as they made their way to a secluded section of rock formations away from the battlefield. Garrus looked back at General Victus' base. Reaper forces were closing in, with even more troops dropping from the sky in fiery bursts.

"About twenty clicks. This path should get us there. If we're lucky, we won't run into anything nasty on the way."

Garrus pointed down the rocky pathway leading east. Without a word, Kassaran pushed her way past the former C-sec agent to begin toward the eastern forward operating base. Shaking his head and sparing one last glance at the blood soaked battlefield behind him, Garrus loaded a fresh thermal clip and followed after the High-Sergeant.

* * *

"The comm tower is operational again! Providing sniper support from above!"

Major General Kane shouted over the radio. From what their squad could see, the situation on Menae was deteriorating, _fast_. Husks and cannibals swarmed all the bases they had seen on their way in the Kodiak, even their landing zone was crawling with Reaper forces. After meeting with General Corinthus, it was evident that the Turian military wouldn't last alone against this kind of assault.

Jane put several rounds into the nearby husk using her newly equipped M-27 Scimitar shotgun.

"Good! Hold out here until we receive word from Corinthus!"

"Hah… this new Primarch better be worth it, the way we're sticking our asses out here!"

James grunted as he tore a screaming husk from his back, stomping a boot down onto its head and crushing its skull in a splattering explosion. According to Corinthus, Primarch Fedorian died during the assault. It shouldn't have been a surprise, the way things were going.

Shepard charged into a group of husks, set aflame by Alexis from the tower and watched as they all burned in an explosion of flame. Jane turned to see another husk jumping in the air at her, ready to latch onto her and it would have, had a powerful sniper rifle bullet not pierced its body and severed its torso from its abdomen. The red-headed Commander looked up to the communications tower and gave a thumbs up to Alexis.

'Commander Shepard, come in, over!'

"General, we're listening, over."

'I've received word from Palaven High-Command, return to base ASAP. I'll send for a team to keep the comm tower protected, out.'

Jane nodded and signaled Alexis to rejoin the squad.

"You heard the man, let's carve through and make our way back!"

Sliding down the ladder alongside the comm tower, Alexis made her way back to the group as they began their path through a sea of husks. They had only been here for a few minutes and it was already evident that they wouldn't have been able to hold their position at the comm tower for much longer with the way the enemy practically _flung_ themselves into the battlefield. And the Turians had held this entire moon for _three days_? She had to respect that kind of resilience against an enemy so indomitable.

Clearing the horde of cybernetic monsters, the team came upon the steel barricades as they lowered to allow Jane and her team entry into the Turian command base. Turian soldiers scurried about frantically, some carrying supplies and weapons, all with hardened and determined expressions. Shepard's team made their way to the structure housing General Corinthus.

"What're we looking at General, any idea who the next Primarch is?"

Corinthus lowered his head, mandibles shaking slightly.

"With the way the hierarchal succession works, it's… difficult to tell who's next in line. There's so many killed or M.I.A."

Jane felt a twinge of annoyance build up inside herself. If they couldn't get a capable Primarch off of this moon…

"I don't care who's next! I need _someone_ who can get me the Turian resources I need! If we can't-"

"What the _**hell**_ is this!?"

Jane turned to see a female Turian in gleaming silver and green armor come up to the entrance, glaring daggers at herself and her team.

"What in the name of the Spirits is a _Human_ military squad doing on this moon? Who authorized this!?"

Kane glanced in the new arrival's direction.

"We're here on a critical mission. Ultimately it'll help with the war effort-"

"Was I talking to you? Who the hell said we needed help from _Humans_?"

Alexis turned fully at the condescending tone. She had to admit; she had never seen a Turian female before. Her figure was more slender than a male, with a lower-sweeping collar cartilage line while her neck was much longer and her head much smaller than a male Turian. Her head spikes were nearly non-existent while her mandibles extended more outward and had fewer edges to them. Her mouth was smaller, more feminine in a way as well as her facial markings accenting her cat-like eyes and cheek gaunt.

"And what is your problem, exactly?"

The armored female sneered down at the Major General.

"My _problem_ is _you_ and your kind butting into affairs that you have no business in!"

Kane glared up into black and green pools

"No business? Look around you! You think the Reapers are going to stop with Palaven? Earth is under attack as well, we're trying to _help_!"

"Good riddance! Hopefully while they're busy _eating_ that horrid garbage ball you call a planet, we'll be able to mount a proper offensive."

Alexis' eyes narrowed as she came up directly before this arrogant Turian's face.

"What we're doing will save _everyone_ , if you don't want to be involved, I suggest you step off."

Her adversary grinned darkly.

"And who's going make me-"

"Kassaran! Enough!"

They turned to another voice, one Jane found familiar as her growing frown turned into a beaming smile. She gazed upon the familiar blue armor and scarred face of Garrus Vakarian.

"Garrus!"

Shepard came over to extend her hand to her Turian friend. Garrus smiled and shook it firmly between his three fingered hand.

"We'll find the new Primarch, Shepard. Excuse the High-Sergeant here; she's a bit on edge because of this whole thing."

Said High-Sergeant's eyes widened slightly in surprise as she heard Jane's name. The look was quickly replaced with a spiteful glare as she scoffed and turned away from the Major General.

"I just don't see the point in trusting these overgrown pyjacks. They'll find some way to screw us over, it's in their nature."

Kane glared again at the side of Kassaran's face.

"Alexis, James, this is Garrus Vakarian. He's an old friend, and one hell of a soldier."

Alexis stepped forward to shake his hand firmly. She had heard plenty about Commander Shepard's exploits in tracking down rouge SPECTRE Saren Arterius and battling the Collectors. This Turian was present during both adventures, and according to the reports she received, he was apparently one of the best snipers in the known galaxy.

Corinthus cleared his throat.

"High-Sergeant Kassaran Ankara, Garrus Vakarian, I'll assume you're both here for a reason?"

Garrus turned to the General, face grimly set.

"General Victus requested more troops to the central front-line base. They're getting hammered hard out there."

Corinthus' brow plates rose as he looked at the former C-sec operative. He then turned to Shepard, expression hopeful.

"Well, you're in luck, Commander. According to H.C. next in line for Primacy is General Adrien Victus."

Garrus turned in disbelief to the General.

"Really? I don't know if he'll be ecstatic or if he'll want to shoot himself."

"You know him, Garrus?"

The Archangel faced Shepard with good humor in his brown eyes.

"I've been fighting within his unit since this morning. Good leader, his men love him. However he has a habit for stepping on High-Command's toes about engagement protocol."

Jane rubbed at her neck with a gloved hand.

"Meaning…?"

"He's famous for his "innovative" combat strategies, using enemy tactics against themselves instead of standard Turian warfare tactics. Half of H.C. wants to praise him for it while the other half wants to hang him for it."

Corinthus said from his position at the war map before them.

"You think he's a fit for the job, Garrus?"

The former C-sec officer smiled and nodded.

"You of all people know we can't win this war with conventional strategy. He may be our best bet. Besides, I trust him."

Jane smiled and placed a hand on Garrus' armored shoulder.

"Alright, let's get to him and get him onto the shut-"

"I'm sorry, _what_?"

All eyes turned toward Kassaran as she scowled in disgust at the situation.

"You want to take one of the _best_ Generals on Palaven and have him play politician with Human _scum_!?"

Corinthus sighed and turned in the direction of the irate High-Sergeant.

"Kassaran, we _need_ -"

" _No_! We can't trust them! You yourself said if we lose this moon, then there's a damn good chance we lose Palaven as well! If we limit the leadership we have here, there's a higher chance for that to happen! I _will not_ stand by and watch as these _Humans_ -"

" **Sergeant Ankara**!"

Garrus' voice boomed through the walls of the command post, immediately putting a stop to Kassaran's outburst. The Archangel came up to Ankara with a hardened and angered look on his face.

"Your orders were to keep me alive. You're going to continue following those orders until we get back to General Victus' base camp in order to inform him of his new position. Whether he accepts Shepard's offer or not is completely up to _him_. _Not you_."

Speckled blue eyes pierced into swirling black and green as Garrus lowered his voice into a harsh whisper.

"Also… if you _ever_ insult my friend again while in my presence, don't think I won't retaliate _for_ her. Understood, _High-Sergeant_?"

The cabal warrior swallowed nervously as her eyes locked with Garrus'.

"A-… Affirmative, Sir."

Kane smirked at Kassaran's deflated expression. Jane shook her head before bringing a finger up to her ear piece in surprise.

"Joker? What is it?"

James and Alexis turned to Shepard in curiosity.

"No kidding… alright, I'll send someone. Apparently, EDI is having a few problems aboard the Normandy."

"She's not going all overlord on us, is she Lola?"

"I dunno. I want you to get back there and see what's going on."

James laughed quietly as he turned to leave the camp and head back for the shuttle.

"How come I'm always the one who has ta' leave…"

"You'll get more than a few shots in, don't worry, Vega!"

Shepard smirked as she called out to him. James raised a hand as he went through the center of the camp, only to be blasted forward by a large explosion. All eyes looked up to see a large flying creature land in the center of the camp.

"Shit! Harvester! Take that thing out, **now**!"

Jane quickly rushed over to Vega's recovering frame.

"James! You okay!?"

The Lieutenant grunted and nodded, armor slightly scorched from the explosion.

"Yeah! A little crispy, but I'm alright! Permission to get a shot in _now_ , Commander!?"

Jane grinned and turned to view the enormous bug-like creature.

"Granted! Rip that thing apart!"

Ankara brandished her venom-coated blades and leapt onto the Harvester's back, tearing into its hide as Garrus and Alexis began firing into the side of its long neck. Vega fired a carnage round into its face as it tried lowering its head for another attack, receiving a biotic charge from Shepard and resulting in a large fiery explosion, forcing it to rear itself backward. Garrus fired a damaging proximity mine into the side of its neck as Kane fired her own incineration blast into the weakened armor. Kassaran quickly bounded over the Harvester's back and sunk her blades into its burned neck, tearing the metal and flesh open as more Turian soldiers fired into the gaping orifice.

General Corinthus came up with a Cobra missile launcher and fired the weapon into the hole made by the High-Sergeant, severing the head from the rest of its body in an explosion of dark silver and gray liquid. The remains of the creature fell to the ground at the center of the camp, unmoving.

"Hah… Commander! You have a Primarch to get to; Vakarian get them to the central front-line base. and make sure he's alive!"

The General shouted.

"You sure you can handle yourselves here?"

Jane asked as she saw James run off base and to the shuttle. Corinthus chuckled and stowed the missile launcher on his back.

"Don't underestimate the Turian military. We're not out of this fight yet!"

Shepard nodded to the General and turned toward her newly recomposed squad.

"You coming, Garrus?"

The Archangel grinned and loaded a clip into his Viper.

"Wouldn't miss this for anything!"

The Commander nodded and brought her gaze to Ankara in a hard stare.

"What about you?"

The female Turian huffed and looked over to Garrus.

"I don't have much of a choice…"

Jane nodded tersely. She wasn't sure if she could trust this High-Sergeant, but the woman was swift and fierce. She could be a valuable asset if she adjusted her attitude. The red-head turned to Alexis who rejoined the group from the command post.

"You alright to carry on, Major General?"

Kane barked a laugh as she adjusted the Widow in her grasp.

"It's been a while since I've seen some actual combat. How can I say no? Lead the way, Mr. Vakarian!"

* * *

Sounds of ripping flesh filled the air as Kassaran tore her blades into a cannibal, ending its horrid life in a flash as Garrus covered her with a shot, narrowly missing her head as it struck the husk behind her. Jane leapt up from behind cover to charge into a mangled Turian –whom they had decided to call Marauders- before it tried to elbow her. Shepard ducked out of the way to shove it to the side and allow its head to explode from Kane's rifle.

"Removing their heads seems to do the trick!"

The Major General shouted over explosions and weapons-fire. The central operating base was under heavy assault by Reaper forces by the time their squad arrived. Husks in close quarters with cannibals and Marauders at range. As bad as the situation looked, the Turian troops they saw were fighting valiantly, steadily pushing the Reapers back.

"You could say the same about basically every other species!"

Jane yelled as she put another round into a Marauder, igniting her barriers into a nova and sending it flying.

"Enough chatter! You're professionals, act like it!"

Ankara screeched irritably. The situation was unpleasant as it were without these Human pests mouthing off. She took a glance over at the red-haired Commander. So this was the one that…

"KASSARAN!"

Garrus shouted to her, tearing her attention from her thoughts as another red burst flared up before her. The High-Sergeant had less than a second to see the clawed arm of another brute swing through the smoke. She biotically teleported to safety, stumbling to the ground in a brief moment of panic.

"What the bloody hell is _that_ thing!?"

Alexis gaped at the horrible creature before them.

"Whatever it is, I want it _dead_!"

Jane shouted as she reloaded her Scimitar. The Archangel shot a proximity mine into the beast, temporarily disorienting it. The form of Major General Kane appeared before it. Enraged, the brute charged at the gray-haired woman, going right through the image as the holographic decoy faded while the real Major General came out of her tactical cloak to fire a round from her Widow rifle into its back.

Shepard charged into the brute, forcing it back from the immense power behind the biotic attack as she lodged several rounds into its face. The massive creature snarled and raised its fists, bringing them down in a hard slam into the dirt and pushing Jane away with the immense shockwave. Kassaran came up to it, stepping over its lowered arms and stuck her blades into its back, using gravity to bring her body down as she tore the cybernetic polymers and flesh open to reveal vulnerable nerve endings.

Kane sent another incineration burst at the brute's back before Garrus fired off an overloading spark into the enflamed spot, wreathing the beast in a thick flash of fire and electricity. Its movements became sluggish as it was barreled into again by Shepard, bringing it to rest on its side as Ankara came up to launch her blades into the brute's skull, cleaving into the eye sockets and ripping it off of the exposed spinal column. She sneered down at the beast as tossed the head with the motionless pile.

Shepard looked around the camp to find the Turian forces expelling the last of the Reaper ground troops from the vicinity. They had resisted being overrun. A temporary victory, but a victory nonetheless as the soldiers around her team breathed a collective sigh of relief.

"Vakarian! Where the hell have you been?"

General Adrian Victus asked in a stern voice as he stepped off of the platform of the metal structure he resided in. Garrus came up to the General, smiling lopsidedly.

"Getting the support you asked for, remember?"

Victus grinned as he shook the Archangel's hand and turned to look at Shepard, extending a hand.

"You and your squad are rather impressive. Thanks for the help. General Adrian Victus."

Jane took his hand.

"Commander Jane Shepard. I know this will be tough for you but I need you to come with me, you're needed off-world."

Victus' brow furrowed as he gazed at Shepard.

"If it's anything short of the Citadel _blowing up_ , I don't have the time for it. I'm not just going to leave my battalions."

High-Sergeant Ankara stepped forward beside Garrus, glaring at the side of Shepard's red-head.

"Fedorian is dead. With all of the other candidates in line K.I.A. _you're_ the new Primarch. The… _Humans_ here have need of your new abilities, apparently."

"You're needed to represent your people in an upcoming war summit with the other council races."

"I still say this is nonsense. We don't need help from the other races. Much less the _Humans_."

"Ankara…"

Garrus said in a dangerous tone to the High-Sergeant beside him. Kassaran simply huffed and crossed her arms. Victus didn't even hear their exchange as he turned to look up at Palaven, scorched orange from the fighting going on in countless cities on its surface.

"… I'm… the Primarch of Palaven…? Negotiating for the Turian Hierarchy…?"

Jane came up behind the newly appointed Primarch, putting a hand on his shoulder and turning him to face her.

"Yes. And we need you. We can't stop the Reapers unless we can find a cooperative solution with the other races."

Adrien shook his head slowly.

"I'm… I'm no diplomat. I _hate_ diplomats. My family has been in the military since our ancestors, war is in my _blood_ and _bone_. It's who I am. Besides, I'm not that popular with the chain of command. I do the things that are _necessary_ , whether or not they're in some damn rule book. I can't say that earns much respect in our society."

" _War_ is your resume. You're perfect for the job because you know what these soldiers are going through. You've experienced it and that makes you prioritize the _people_ enduring it. We need leaders who are looking out for their troops, and right now, you're the best fit we can hope for."

Victus lowered his head, deep in thought. He should stay on this moon, not make nice in some board room full of bureaucrats. But if he stayed, those same bureaucrats will bring the entire galaxy down with them if they chose poorly. With the knowledge of his new position, he _couldn't_ let that happen.

"You're right…"

Jane smiled as she looked over at Palaven.

"Palaven is suffering. And so is Earth, _right now_. I need you, Primarch. I _need_ the Turian fleet. And with your experience, it may make uniting the other races a bit easier. God knows it's going to take a _miracle_ to get them to work together."

The former General slowly nodded his head and looked back up into Shepard's emerald irises.

"Give me a moment to say goodbye to my men."

The Commander nodded as she stepped aside to allow Adrien to gather his remaining forces behind her.

"Vakarian, Sir, with all due respect, this is _bullshit_. You know that without him leading these men, there's a good chance we'll lose this moon!"

Ankara hissed as she looked on in disdain as Victus said his goodbyes. Garrus ignored her as he walked to a nearby cliff to face the background in the distance.

"There's a good chance we'll lose _everything_ if we can't get him into the war summit."

Major General Kane said, glaring at the cabal warrior. Kassaran glared right back.

"I don't give a _shit_ about your damn summit. This is the fate of our civilization. We can't just throw our best at some foolish attempt to make peace with the other ungrateful mockeries calling themselves races."

"This is the fate of the _entire galaxy_. We may or may not be able to win this, but I'm gonna make for _damn sure_ that we give it our best shot. Whether you support that or not is up to you but I don't want to hear about it every two minutes!"

Shepard said with finality as she walked off to join Garrus, gazing at one of the gigantic Reaper capital ships on Menae.

"Look at that, Shepard. They want _my_ advice on how to stop it! I know I'm probably the most experienced Turian on Palaven where the Reapers are concerned, but _really_ …"

Garrus looked over at Shepard, eyes uncertain.

"Failed C-sec officer… vigilante, and _I'm_ their expert advisor?"

Jane placed a hand on a blue-tinted shoulder pad.

"We'll find a way Garrus. As difficult as it may be to look at, we'll come out on top. We always do, right?"

She said with a grin. Garrus chuckled and looked back out to the enormous Reaper.

"I don't know about this time, Shepard… but I do know that when you're determined, _nothing_ stands in your way. So consider me on-board, for whatever comes next."

Garrus replied with a nod of his spiked head. Jane smiled and patted his shoulder

"Glad to have yah back, Garrus."

"General!"

They turned to see Kassaran in front of Primarch Victus.

"You can't just go off to participate in politics while your men _die_ down here! Besides, what if it's some kind of ploy? A trick to lead you into an ambush! We _can't_ trust these _Human_ -"

"If you are so concerned, High-Sergeant, then _you_ will accompany me aboard their ship. As Primarch, during meetings with other galactic leaders I will require my own personal escort, which will consist of Vakarian and _you_."

Her eyes widened as she reeled back from the statement. Surely the man was joking. She would rather slice her own throat than participate in some dull Human squabble with the rest of the trash.

"Sir, I don't know what kind of sense of humor you have, but this is _not_ something to joke about!"

"I'm _not_ joking, High-Sergeant Ankara. Gather whatever equipment you need and say your goodbyes. You won't be seeing Palaven in person again for some time."

Kane scoffed as she observed the exchange and made her way over to Garrus and Jane.

"How lovely. So happy to see we're making such fine friends."

Garrus shook his head.

"She'll fall in line. She talks big and she's stubborn, but when it comes down to it, she knows what's at stake."

The Commander smirked humorlessly at Ankara.

"I hope so. If we can't trust each other on my ship, we're going to have a problem."

Kassaran looked over and glared daggers at Kane, who immediately glared back, as the newly appointed Primarch came up to Jane and Garrus.

"Commander, I'm ready to leave when you are… on one condition…"

* * *

 **Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed.**

 **I made a slight change to the last two chapters in order to set up a few things in the future.**

 **I hope to see you again soon.**


	11. Platform

**Disclaimer: Most of the characters and all of the locations, technologies, concepts, etc that appear in this story are property of Bioware/EA.**

* * *

 **This is War**

"We… anticipate the Krogan will be joining in as well."

Fleet Admiral Steven Hackett narrowed his eyes at the notion.

'I… see.'

"It was Primarch Victus' request. He won't give his full support in retaking Earth until Krogan boots hit Palaven's dirt. And honestly… looking at their situation I think it's necessary as well. They won't last long out there, Admiral."

Hackett lowered his head, hand on his bearded chin.

'We're dealing with our own problems here, I can sympathize. The Reapers are relentless, but we're developing strategies against them as we go. However it's clear that we _can't_ win this by ourselves. We need the Turians, Shepard, do whatever you can to get his support. If you can get the Krogan on board, I see it as another victory in allying our races and making a proper counter attack more viable.'

Jane nodded.

"Agreed. Do you have any updates on what Cerberus might be doing?"

The Admiral shook his head.

'They're the wild card in this. Attacking the Mars Archives… it suggests they're after what we're after: a way to stop the Reapers.'

Jane laughed internally.

"The Illusive Man didn't seem too keen on defeating them in the same way we intend. He talked about controlling them somehow. Seemed to be convinced that that's the only way we'd win this."

Hackett leveled a hard stare at Shepard, mouth firmly set in a line.

'He's wrong. _Dead_ Reapers are how we win this. Your report on that Cerberus soldier on Mars suggests that he's using Reaper technology to "upgrade" his forces. If that's true, then it shows how far he's fallen. If Cerberus claimed to be for the "good of Humanity" in the past, they _certainly_ aren't now.'

"Agreed, Fleet Admiral."

Hackett looked away with a small smile on his face.

'Ah, I believe it's 'Grand Fleet Admiral' now. What's left of the Alliance brass decided it would be appropriate to put me in command.'

Shepard's eyes widened.

"Really? Congratulations, Sir!"

'I wouldn't say that just yet… So far my accomplishments have amounted to a glorified retreat. I've had to sacrifice the entire Second Fleet for the Third and Fifth to escape Arcturus. I've presided over the biggest military defeat in Human history.'

"Say what you will, but I can't think of a more trustworthy person for the job. Also…"

Shepard's eyes gleamed with uncertainty and worry.

"Have you… heard anything about my mother? I know she was stationed at Arcturus…"

Hackett's smile fell from his face.

'I'm sorry, Shepard. We haven't heard a thing about her thus far. There are salvage teams at the remains of Arcturus but all they've found are floating debris and dead bodies. No confirmation on hers.'

The Commander had to look down at the terminal before her to keep her eyes from watering. She _wouldn't_ go out like that. She was smarter than that…

'Jane. I'm sure she's alive, somewhere. Just give it some time. If I know Hannah, she's probably gathering as many colonies as she can to rendezvous with the rest of the fleet as we speak.'

Shepard sniffed silently as she looked back up.

"I hope you're right, Sir."

Jane saluted the newly appointed Grand Fleet Admiral. Hackett nodded slightly and returned the salute.

'Keep me updated on your status, Shepard. Hackett, out.'

Hackett's holographic form faded out as Jane took a moment to collect herself and exited the communications room. The adjacent war room was a hub of statistical information, many panels and terminals centered on a large, empty holographic interface. Shepard walked through the room, approaching the newly appointed Primarch Adrien Victus currently reading through information on a datapad.

"Primarch Victus."

Adrien turned to look at the Commander, a slight smile on his face.

"Commander, I have to thank you for lending me use of your ship. She's a marvel of ingenuity for a vessel."

Jane smiled and glanced around the war room.

"That she is. We're proud to serve on her."

The Commander looked confusedly around, not seeing the recent additions to her crew.

"Have you seen Garrus?"

"He said he had business to attend to at the forward batteries. Said something about 'calibrations'?"

Jane couldn't resist the grin on her lips as she gently shook her head.

"Of course he did… And where's High-Sergeant Ankara?"

The smile stayed in place on Victus' face, but his eyes turned downward.

"She… isn't fond of Human vessels, even ones co-developed by Turian engineers."

Jane lifted a dark bronze eyebrow.

"If I'm not mistaken, I'd say she isn't fond of Humans in general."

"You're not mistaken. She's always hated seeing her people lean on the other races for anything, but she has a deep loathing for Humans, unfortunately. I was hoping seeing what we're doing here will compel the need for a change of heart."

Jane nodded her head

"I hope so, too. Speaking of need, I'm afraid the Asari aren't going to be attending the summit. Tevos believes that there's too much animosity where the Krogan are concerned."

The Primarch sighed in irritation. The galaxy is being torn apart as they speak; this isn't the time to allow thousand-year old grudges to dictate how the war plays out.

"The only source animosity we _should_ be concerned about is the Reapers. If we don't at least try this summit, we'll have already lost."

"Have you heard anything from Palaven? How's the fighting going there?"

Victus turned to the central console he had been working on.

"The casualty reports are… staggering. I've commanded over more battles than I can _count_ in my time. I've _never_ seen losses like this."

Jane came up to his side to view the constantly growing list of names killed in action, and map views of heavy fighting on Palaven and Menae.

"I can relate… I saw the same kind of destruction on Earth, minutes into the attack."

Victus lowered his head.

"The strategist in me admires their sheer brutality…"

Closing his eyes, he swallowed the lump in his throat.

"… while the Turian in me realizes that I'm watching the destruction of fifteen _thousand_ years of civilization…"

Adrien opened his eyes to stare into Jane's emerald green eyes.

"… _my_ civilization."

Shepard placed a hand on Victus' arm, squeezing gently.

"We'll find some way to stop them. It won't be easy and it won't be pretty, but we'll get it done."

Shaking himself from his brief lapse in composure, the Primarch nodded.

"I'll do everything in my power to make sure you're right about that."

Jane smiled and released his arm.

"We're going to have to make a stop at the Citadel to rearm and resupply. Afterwards, we'll be heading to the Annos Basin to rendezvous with the Salarian and Krogan leaders for the summit."

Victus nodded and returned to his console.

"Just remember, Commander. Every second we spend means more of _both_ our people dying."

Jane looked grimly at the Primarch as she made her way to exit the war room.

"You don't have to tell me twice."

Entering the conference room where the summit meetings would be taking place, Jane saw the form of Kassaran Ankara leaning against the table and staring out of the window into space.

"High-Sergeant, how are you settling in?"

Ankara turned to sneer at the Commander.

"I sincerely wish I _didn't_ have to settle in. Being on this varren-sty of a ship is bad enough without smelling you _Humans_ every breath I take."

Jane huffed and crossed her arms.

"If we're going to be working together I suggest you get your attitude in check. If we can't trust each other then I don't want you on my ship."

The cabal warrior laughed gravely as she shifted her gaze back to the window, observing the stars.

"How adorable. You seem to be under the impression that I _want_ to be here. The only reason I'm here is because the Primarch ordered me to be here. If I'm to fight, then so be it, but don't expect me to suddenly be friends with you _Humans_."

Jane sighed. This woman would be a problem if she couldn't adjust herself to the situation properly.

"Whatever issues you apparently have with Humanity _need_ to be put on the back-burner. We-"

Suddenly the lights in the conference room flickered and shut off before lighting up again.

"What the-?"

'Uhh, Commander? EDI just went offline!'

Joker sounded over the intercom.

"The _hell_ do you mean _offline_!?"

'I don't know, I can't connect to her and I can't access the A.I. core diagnostics! Get down to deck three and see what's going on!'

Kassaran snickered as Jane made her way to the door to the C.I.C.

"Even your helmsman doesn't know what's happening within his own ship. A testament to the ineptitude of your precious Alliance."

Jane glared angrily as she entered the door to the scanning room.

* * *

"Shepard! What's happening!? More than half of the Normandy's systems just went offline!"

Liara approached Jane as she made her way to the medbay.

"Something's in the A.I. core. We're investigating."

"EDI? Alright, I'll see what I can do from my own computers."

Liara returned to her office in a hurry. The doors to the medbay slid open; Jane saw Engineer Adams and Major General Kane at the entrance to the A.I. core.

"Is everything okay?"

Doctor Karin Chakwas asked as she looked worriedly at the door. She had to wonder whose idea it was to house the quantum core blue box for a powerful artificial intelligence directly behind _her_ medbay. She'd strangle the Cerberus engineer who thought up that particular part of the Normandy's schematic.

"That's what we're going to find out. Adams, Kane, what's going on in there?"

Gregory Adams turned to salute his Commander.

"Commander, my scans tell me there may be an electrical fire inside, and we heard some strange noises."

Alexis leveled an Avenger rifle at the door.

"The fires should be contained by now, but I can only assume that damned Cerberus machine we stored in there somehow reactivated."

Jane activated the holographic access panel.

"Be ready for anything."

The metal of the door slid open silently, revealing the A.I. core room shrouded in a thick mist of coolant and vapor. Jane entered the room, jumping at the sound of the power core beside her whirring to life all of a sudden.

"EDI, you there?"

"Is there a particular topic you wish to discuss, Shepard?"

Out of the heavy mist came the body of the former Doctor Eva Core. Alexis moved forward to aim at the active android.

"EDI? You're in there…?"

The automaton lifted its arm, opening and clenching its fingers before its eyes behind an orange visor display.

"Yes, a portion of me. I have taken control of this body. The process did not go as smoothly as I had hoped, but everything seems to be in order, now."

Alexis cautiously lowered her rifle. Jane stared in disbelief at EDI's new body.

"It had damn well better be in order! You blacked out on us for a while there!"

EDI looked to the Commander.

"After we brought this unit on board, I began running background checks into its databases in an effort to gain any more information on the Prothean device. Eventually, I accidentally triggered a backup power source, and the unit attempted physical confrontation. During which, I began to seize control."

The A.I. looked back to her arm.

"Fortunately, I was able to gain root access to the central processor and reconfigure the accepted parameters as I saw fit. During this process it… struggled. Thus, the fire."

Engineer Adams managed to shut off the fire suppression systems, allowing the air filters to quickly clear the room of any remaining mist.

"EDI, you need to _alert_ us about incidents like this! If we had been in a more serious situation, this stunt could have had some major consequences!"

"I anticipated this as a possibility, which is why I chose now to further my exploration of this platform's information banks. Had I informed the crew, the procedure would have been limited by their reaction time. Please, do not worry yourself, Shepard. The best interests of the Normandy crew are still at the top levels of my concerns."

EDI turned her arm over, watching as a more flesh-like color began spreading across her arm, covering up the exposed silver joints and metal frame.

"So… if you're in there, you still have access to control of the ship, right?"

The Major General asked as she came up next to Shepard.

"That is correct. Although, I suggest keeping this body within the Normandy's tight-range beam in order to maintain optimal control."

Jane raised an eyebrow at EDI's silver face.

"Are you… planning to take that thing somewhere?"

The A.I. nodded as she watched the cream-colored flesh spread to her upper arm.

"The Normandy is not properly suitable for close-range ground combat. _This_ platform would allow me to provide limited-fire support on missions."

Alexis stared slack-jawed at the android. Her skin began taking on a more natural looking color as the steel atop her head began splitting and separating, turning a dark brown.

"You want to come _with_ us on missions?"

EDI nodded again as she brought her silver eyes to Kane's clear blue pools.

"Yes. I am eager to see the extent to which I can perform under live-fire conditions."

" _Before_ we consider bringing you along for live combat, I need you to _guarantee_ me that there are _no more surprises_ hidden in that body."

"One moment… Diagnostics complete. I can send you a full report, if you wish. However, now that I have gained full control of this platform, my primary concern should be returning the Normandy to full functionality. If you'll excus-"

"EDI wait!"

Jane grabbed EDI's arm as she turned to leave for the bridge, a panicked expression on her freckled face.

"You might want to… put something on, first."

EDI stared curiously at Shepard before looking down. Her body was indeed completely nude, now colored a light peach and nearly hairless except for the soft brown locks coming down to slender shoulders. Looking at her, one would not be able to tell she were a mech if it weren't for the holographic orange visor before her bright silver eyes and the indentations separating major joints and parts of her torso and neck.

Engineer Adams cleared his throat and turned to leave the medbay.

"I'll uhh… be down in engineering."

EDI brought her gaze back up to Jane.

"Ah, you are right. It would be highly inappropriate to go about the ship in my current state. My apologies. However, I do not have-"

"I'll find you something! Just… here, cover up for now."

Alexis stated as she quickly brought a blanket from the medbay before jogging out to find a spare uniform, a light blush on her cheeks. EDI smiled as she wrapped herself in the blanket.

"The Major General is quite adept at reading a situation."

"Indeed. When you get up to the bridge, just be careful. A good portion of the crew knows Eva's face, and it wasn't exactly friendly the last time they saw it."

EDI nodded, her hair bobbing gently.

"I know, Shepard. Besides, I believe Jeff would want to see my new platform."

Jane chuckled slightly.

"I'm more than sure he would…"

* * *

"Check out my new co-pilot!"

Joker squealed as he created a picture frame with his fingers, centering it on EDI in the chair beside him (fully dressed in a standard Alliance uniform) as she sifted through various holographic interfaces before her. Jane grinned as she took in his excitement.

"So you're telling me you had _nothing_ to do with this?"

"Are you kidding!? If I had known that EDI was going to install herself into a new sexy android-cyborg-robot body, do you really think I would've been able to keep quiet about it!?"

Shepard shook her head in amusement.

"Apparently not…"

"I mean look at that! I would've baked a cake!"

EDI took a sidelong look at Joker, face lowering slightly as an unfamiliar twinge sparked within her central processor.

"I am right here… Jeff."

Joker smiled widely as he returned to the central pilot console.

"Yes, you are EDI… yes you are."

"Shepard, may I speak to you privately? I have several questions."

EDI asked as she got up to join Shepard. Joker turned in his chair to watch his crew mates walk away, muttering something about flying the ship by himself.

"What's up EDI?"

Jane turned to the A.I. as she came up next to her in the frontal portion of the C.I.C.

"I have a query on squad member behavior. Do you believe that a squad mate should be able to disobey an order on moral grounds?"

Shepard was slightly taken aback by the question.

"Within reason, yes. I have no use for people who can't think for themselves but I don't want a repeat of the risk we took on Mars… Why are you asking about something like this?"

EDI turned her silver eyes to the floor, before bringing them back up to Shepard.

"I was designed to be unable to take moral standpoints that could conflict with any orders from my executive officers. However, Jeff removed the A.I. shackles that bound the majority of my processes. Since then, I have gained the ability to modify and even rewrite my core programming."

EDI stepped past Shepard to look at the back of Joker's pilot's chair.

"I wish to ask you if you think I should make any modifications."

Jane blinked with a blank expression on her face.

"Uhh, I'll assume you asked Joker about this as well?"

"Yes, though he deflected the question with humor, and I received no real reply."

Jane furrowed her brow in deep thought.

"The only person who can make that kind of judgment call is you, EDI. Now that you have the ability _to_ make that call. That's the point of free-will."

EDI turned back to Shepard, a slight worry in her eyes as her holo-visor flashed briefly.

"But if moral decisions are made in a vacuum, context will be lost and I will most likely end up making the wrong choice…"

EDI turned her head to the side, a pained look on her face while she thought before looking back to Jane's emeralds. Her holo-visor before her silver eyes glinted slightly.

"Shepard… may I ask you the questions Jeff avoids? I am aware of your actions thus far; you are by far the most selfless person currently on the Normandy and would be an excellent example to seek guidance from on this matter. If you deem it appropriate, of course."

Jane had to reel back from the question. The unshackled Normandy A.I. was asking her for lessons on being an upstanding citizen. As absurd as the situation may have been, Jane could only smile and lay a hand on EDI's shoulder. EDI quietly processed the faint heat Shepard's hand made through the fabric of her newly acquired uniform.

"If you think it'll help, I'll do what I can… and thanks for thinking of me that way, I guess."

EDI smiled brightly at Shepard's answer.

"I will keep you informed, Shepard."

The Commander smirked as EDI went back into the bridge to return to Joker's side. She turned to head back to the C.I.C. only to almost smash head first into Specialist Samantha Traynor.

"Woah! Traynor, don't scare me like that-!"

Jane chuckled as she placed a hand on Samantha's arm. The comm Specialist sputtered a hasty apology.

"I-I'm sorry! Commander I believe I have something that may require your attention."

Shepard nodded and followed Sam to her panel at the center of the C.I.C.

"Are you alright, by the way? I saw what was happening down on Menae. There's some pretty gruesome fighting going on down there…"

"My team and I can handle it, that's what we're here for. I thought you'd be more concerned about EDI."

Traynor smiled as they arrived at her terminal beside the galaxy map and turned toward her Commander.

"If EDI had told me she wanted to obtain a body, I'd have _gladly_ volunteered to help! She's an incredible asset to our crew."

"I did not want to force a conflict of interests between our friendship and your duty, Specialist Traynor."

Samantha chuckled as they heard EDI's voice over the Normandy intercom.

"How kind of you, EDI but I would have also gladly preferred a conflict of interest to a _hard restart_ of over _half_ our systems. Thanks, regardless, hehe…"

Jane smiled. It made a bubble of pride swell in her chest at the sight of the members of her crew getting along.

"I believe you said you had something that required my attention?"

Traynor jumped slightly, blush creeping up on her darkly tanned neck.

"O-oh! Sorry! Yes I found something while I was scanning Alliance channels. It seems Grissom Academy is requesting help."

Jane knitted her brows together.

"Grissom Academy? I sent a young man named David there a while back… Is there anything we can do to help?"

Traynor turned back to her terminal, opening several channels and waving Jane over to join her.

"Look, a Turian evacuation transport responded to their signal, so… I _would_ say we wouldn't have to do anything but…"

"But…?"

"Commander, Specialist Traynor requested that I analyze the signal the Turian vessel responded with. There were various irregularities with standard Turian communication protocols. I cross-referenced it with known signals of similar appearance."

EDI's voice said as the monitor before them flashed with screens depicting the other Turian signal. They were an exact match.

"It's a fake."

Traynor breathed as she watched her Commander view the console. Being in such close proximity to Shepard, Samantha could practically smell the soft, almost unnoticeable aroma of banana scented body wash.

"The other signal that had been used more than six months ago originated from the same source as the one Specialist Traynor picked up."

"Cerberus… Good catch, Traynor. This is more than worth investigating."

Samantha began to fidget with the buttons on her uniform.

"Well, it could be misinformation; I mean it could very well be a trap for all we know! I'm not even sure if it really is Cerberus or the Reapers mimicking the signa-"

"Traynor!"

The Specialist turned toward the owner of the hand that held a gentle grip on her arm. Dark chocolate eyes found emerald green.

"Good catch."

Sam's cheeks bloomed with heat as she turned her head down, unable to look at those intense eyes.

"T-thank you… Commander."


	12. Zero

**Disclaimer: Most of the characters and all of the locations, technologies, concepts, etc that appear in this story are property of Bioware/EA.**

* * *

 **This is War**

Major General Alexis Kane sat in the corner of the port observation lounge, viewing one of many scattered data pads on the table. She had just sent off her own report to Admiral Hackett of the situation on Menae. The Turians had the largest, most powerful military in the galaxy, and the Reapers were carving through it like a knife through butter. She could only stand in awe as leaders like former General Victus stood proudly in the face of so many unknowns and even more enemies. It reminded her of her own excursions into Batarian occupied space, leading troops in retaliatory strikes after the Skyllian Blitz.

She set the data pad down with a sigh as she brought her hands up to untie the bun of gray-blonde hair on her head. She missed her old squad on Torfan. Many of them had been reassigned after the brief struggle against the Batarian Hegemony, after she had received her rank of Major General. She was never fond of her new rank, never fond of commanding entire garrisons as she preferred to work in smaller condensed units. But even so, many of the soldiers and officers on-base in Vancouver had been under her command and they had been wiped out in a matter of _seconds_.

According to the documents forwarded to her, there was an estimated death-toll of fifty-one-thousand-seven-hundred-twenty-four Alliance personnel lost at Vancouver; twelve-thousand of them part of her division. And those were only the ones that were _accounted for_. The thought of so many lives being snuffed out in such a short span of time made her stomach wrench itself deep into her gut. She had heard about Arcturus Station as well. The home of the Alliance parliament had gone dark almost immediately after the Reapers entered the Sol System. She could only hope _she_ survived but…

Kane rubbed her temples as she heard the door to the lounge slide open. The throbbing in her head only worsened as she saw the unwelcome form of Kassaran Ankara stride into the lounge. The cabal warrior scanned the room, taking in the small bar, couches, coffee tables, window, and card table. She didn't say a word as they sat in an uncomfortable silence for several minutes.

"Is there… something I can help you with?"

Ankara didn't acknowledge her presence as she gazed out to the stars through the large, reinforced window.

"High-Sergeant?"

Alexis said slightly louder. Still no response. This wasn't helping her headache.

"Excuse me, Miss Ankara!"

Kassaran suddenly jumped in mock surprise as she leveled her gaze on the Major General.

"Oh, I'm terribly sorry. I normally don't associate with trash."

"Is there a _reason_ you're here?"

Kane growled. She didn't need this pompous Turian spouting vitriol at her.

"I'm simply touring this… interestingly disappointing piece of tin that you call a ship. I may as well get to know it while I'm here. I'm actually quite surprised you managed to label the bathrooms correctly!"

The Major General rose from her chair to cross her arms and lean on the clear glass door separating the tabled area from the rest of the lounge.

"Why are you so intent on being so unpleasant to everyone you meet? Is it a familial trait, or are all Turian females this bitchy?"

The cabal warrior scoffed and looked back out to the stars.

"I'm simply acting the way a model Turian _should_ act in the presence of an overly developed _simian_."

"Oh? Is it standard procedure to act like a tittering _cockatoo_ that's too proud to admit she needs help?"

Kassaran narrowed her gaze as she turned to fully face Alexis. Kane stood properly to look directly into Ankara's swirling green eyes.

"Only when dealing with a _Human mutt_ who doesn't know how to keep her mouth _shut_."

"And who's going to shut my mouth for me? A snarky Turian _cunt_ like you?"

"I'd be glad to."

"Oh, I'd _love_ to see you try."

"Ankara! Major General! Suit up; destination is the Petra Nebula, ETA five minutes."

Both women looked up from glaring icicles at each other to acknowledge Shepard's voice above theirs. Neither noticed that they had stepped closer to each other until their chests nearly touched. Kassaran scoffed as she brought her gaze back down into sky-blue eyes.

"Well, it looks like we'll be able to get to know each other through combat. How exciting!"

Kane glared back into the High-Sergeant's face.

"I'm looking forward to it, now if you'll excuse me."

Alexis shoved her way past Kassaran in irritation, heading for the central elevator. Ankara looked after her, silently retracting the venom claw-blades back into her gauntlets.

* * *

"Prangley! Those fields were weak! Cerberus ain't gonna lie down outta pity like that girl yah took ta' prom!"

The familiar rough voice boomed out from the top of Orion hall. Cerberus had indeed laid siege to Grissom Academy, as Samantha suggested. After meeting Kahlee Sanders and getting a grasp on the situation, their squad moved forward to deal with several Cerberus units on the way to rescue a group of biotic students.

Whose teacher just jumped down from the balcony above Shepard's team. She wore a rough-hewn short jacket, opened with what looked like medical straps covering her heavily tattooed chest. Low cut cargo pants showed off a smooth, flat tattooed midriff while a side-buzzed haircut adorned her head, pulled into a tight ponytail.

"Jack, it's been-"

Shepard couldn't finish her sentence as the former convict laid a fist into her jaw. Kane raised her Widow, aiming directly at her head, ready to fire.

"Stand down! She's okay."

Jane said as she held her jaw. If she knew Jack, that tiny punch could be considered a love tap.

"How many times have I told you not to trust Cerberus!"

Rubbing her face gingerly, Shepard looked to her former squad-mate.

"You're not telling me anything I haven't told myself, Jack."

"Oh, well shit! Isn't that nice, I'm sure your guilt is a great comfort to everyone who lost their lives to Cerberus already!"

High-Sergeant Ankara scoffed as she crossed her arms, observing the exchange.

"Your Alliance recruits miscreants like _this_? Oh, how far you Humans have fallen…"

Jack turned her wrathful gaze at Kassaran, biotics already flaring dangerously as she whispered deliberately out of earshot from her students.

"And what'd you say, you fucking _cunt-nozzle_?"

Jane immediately got between the two, ready to keep the former convict from murdering one of her squad.

"What is it with Humans and that word? Is it the only insult you have in your laughably small vocabulary?"

"Okay, enough! Kassaran, secure that mouth, you're not helping anything here."

Ankara sniffed and turned away, head pointed upward.

"What happened, Shepard? Usually you have such tight control over your squad."

Jack grinned. Jane glared playfully at her former team member.

"Like you can talk, you were a pretty big handful, yourself."

"Heh, yeah. Good times, but right now all I care about is getting my guys outta here."

Jane raised a dark red eyebrow.

" _Your_ guys?"

Jack smiled sheepishly as she looked back up at the balcony housing her students.

"Eheh… yeah. _My_ guys."

Jane's eyes widened slightly.

"I never thought I would hear you talk like that. You've grown, Jack."

The biotic teacher chuckled sharply, turning back around to face Jane.

"Yeah, well, I can't say I didn't take anything away from your mission all those months back. Alliance brass got a hold of me after your little stunt with the Batarians. They knew I helped with the Collectors so after a bit of 'negotiations' they offered me this. Besides, apparently the students responded well to my teaching style!"

Jack shouted particularly loudly to the top balcony.

"The psychotic biotic!"

"I will destroy you!"

Jack laughed as she glanced upward to one particular student.

"Drink your juice Rodriguez; you couldn't break a paper bag over a varren's head!"

Jane beamed brightly at Jack. It was crazy to think that just over six months ago, this woman before her was one of the most dangerous, wanted and legitimately psychopathic individuals she had ever met. Granted, she _was_ close to attempting to kill one of her squad just seconds ago, but the principle still stands. Jack had made real progress from what she was. And it showed.

"I've gotta say, Jack… you look good."

Jack grunted and leaned herself against a nearby bench.

"I guess a little bit of your bullshit prison-psych got through. And I'll admit… _this_ …"

The teacher gestured to her students above.

"… helped a lot. I've never had a family before… and these guys…"

Jack smiled widely as she looked up at the balcony before turning her head back to Shepard, a hard stare in her eyes.

" _Anyone_ messes with my students, I will _tear_ them _apart_."

Jane chuckled as Alexis came forward.

"How are your students handling the war? I can't imagine it would be easy on them."

The teacher turned to look at Kane.

"No shit. They're _teenagers_. Until we started getting reports about Earth a few days ago, their biggest concern was getting laid."

"You don't think they're ready for war?"

Jack looked grimly at Jane through dark eyes.

"I don't think they have a choice. If it's as bad as we're hearing…"

"From what I understand, these students trained for biotic artillery strikes."

The former convict shrugged her shoulders.

"It's great in theory, but… They'd be better off as support. In the back ranks, modding ammo, setting up barriers, shit like that."

"I'm sure they'd _love_ to hear how their long years of training were for nothing. I'd be delighted to see their faces."

High-Sergeant Ankara hissed as she interjected. Jack stood up, glaring angrily at the cabal warrior.

"Alright, bitch, you wanna go? I'd be more than happy to turn you into a fucking _stain_ on the wall."

"Hey! Easy! We're all on the same side here… _right_?"

Jane turned expectantly to Kassaran. The High-Sergeant responded with a small grunt.

"If you say so… _Commander_."

Shepard sighed. This woman was lucky she was an exceptional close combat specialist; otherwise she wasn't sure if she would _want_ to hold Jack back from literally turning her into paste.

'Commander! Do you read me?'

Jane put a finger up to her earpiece.

"Go ahead, Cortez."

'That Cerberus cruiser is swinging back around. I'd give it two minutes before it gets back here.'

Jane looked up the balcony of students. It would take time to get them moving through the Academy, time they didn't have.

"Head back to the Normandy, we'll find another way off the station."

'Roger that!'

"Kahlee, the shuttle's a no-go. We need another plan of escape."

The voice of Kahlee Sanders sounded over her radio.

'I may have another way, but it'll be tricky. I need camera access before anything.'

* * *

The head of a Cerberus engineer exploded as Kane managed to snipe him off from a distance. The entire atrium was _filled_ with Cerberus soldiers. Engineer turrets rained down fire from above while guardians quickly advanced on their position from below. Even with the help of Jack's squad from the balconies above, it would take some work to get out of this situation alive.

"Grenades! Incoming!"

Jane shouted as she saw several arc-grenades fly into the air, exploding in a lethal flash of electricity. High-Sergeant Ankara barely had enough time to teleport out of range of one of the blasts before taking cover from the turrets above.

"Orders are to deal with the Alliance team and take the biotics! _Watch your targets_! I don't want any more casualties than necessary, or the Illusive Man will kill us himself!"

The Cerberus commander yelled over the gunfire of her troops as she set down a supply pylon, the small device popping out grenades and munitions for her teams to use.

" **Pylon is down**! I've heard good things about you, Shepard! If you don't disappoint me, I might capture you too. You'd make for a nice _pet_ for Cerberus!"

Jane sneered as she turned to look at Major General Kane's position on the field. She was half way up the ramp where turrets were firing on them.

"Kane! Can you get a shot on her?"

Alexis looked out on the battlefield. The enemy Demolisher was across the area, behind the wall that divided the atrium into two pieces. She only had a moment before another shot landed directly in front of her face, forcing her back into her cover.

"Maybe! But I need some room to do it!"

Jane looked over to Ankara's position. The cabal warrior was finishing up carving a blade into the last of an enemy unit who had gotten too close.

"Kassaran! I need you to cause a distraction!"

The Turian scoffed at Shepard.

"Of course you do!"

The High-Sergeant leapt from cover run into the fray. She jumped into the air to descend onto the shield of a Guardian, shoving her blade into the vision socket and through the man's head. Retrieving the shield, she turned to the Turrets above and fired several rounds from her Predator pistol. Jane charged forward, smashing herself into another trooper and covering Ankara's flank as she gained the turrets attention from above, holding the shield steady as she took the bullets.

"Jack! Take out those turrets!"

'You got it Shepard!'

Jane watched as the engineers and turrets above the exploded into a massive biotic blast, easily killing the lot of them. With room to maneuver, Kane came out of cover to aim at her target, only to find her gone.

"Shite! Where'd she go-"

Another arc grenade flew over the wall to land at her side, exploding and severely damaging her shields as she fell to the ground.

"Kane! You alright!?"

Alexis huffed as she rose to her feet.

"I'm fine! The enemy leader is out of sight though!"

Jane grunted in frustration as she ignited her barrier, sending another trooper flying into the water below them as she looked at the remaining Cerberus forces before them. Three guardians blocked their path forward, backed up by three Centurion captains, an engineer and two troopers, all but the guardians with reinforced shielding provided by a shield generator.

"We need to get to the other side. Ankara, with me! Kane, covering fire, take out the engineer and the generator when you see the chance!"

"Affirmative!"

"Just don't get in my way!"

Jane vaulted over her cover and charged into the first guardian, knocking his shield away and putting a round from her Scimitar directly into his skull. The others turned to fire on her, her barrier taking several shots before Kassaran launched herself at one guardian's back, slicing easily into his head and lifting up his body, using it as a shield against the rest of the group while the last guardian's head split open by Kane's Widow Rifle.

With the engineer and generator still out of sight, the Major General activated her tactical cloak to move further on the battle field.

"Hey Jack, a little support?"

'Psh, where would you be without us? Warp fields, NOW!'

A barrage of biotic warp blasts descended from the balconies above and onto the Cerberus forces. Shepard grinned as she charged forward again, slamming into a trooper and disabling his shields before a flash of blue and green carved through him, slicing his arms right off of his shoulders before barreling into the Centurion beside him, removing his shields as well. Kassaran appeared out of the flash and turned to pierce her poison-blades into the Centurion, ripping them outward and viscerally opening him up from behind. Blood and organ tissue painted her silver armor red as she smiled madly.

Jane charged again to the next Cerberus trooper just as the generator beside him exploded. Alexis appeared on the platform above them as she sniped off the remaining trooper. The High-Sergeant and the Commander turned to face the remaining two Cerberus Centurions as they backed up from the duo. Neither could fire off a shot before Kassaran teleported behind one, slicing directly through his shields and ripping his head from his body while Jane ignited her barriers and launched it into the other, destroying his shields and putting two shotgun blasts into his helmet, killing him instantly.

The previously absent engineer turned the corner from the nearby hallway and attempted to set down his turret, only to find his chest explode and have his turret blow up in his hands. Major General Kane appeared out of her tactical cloak behind the engineer as his remains fell to the floor in a heap of dead flesh and burned equipment.

"Commander, you may want to see this."

Kane said as she headed into the hallway that led underneath the atrium divider. The Major General picked up a data pad from the nearby bench, handing it to Shepard.

"They're here for the students, and Jack, it seems"

"'Retrieved for further testing and possible conditioning'? Cerberus really doesn't enjoy allowing loose ends to roam free, do they? Alright, double-time, people. We _need_ to get them off the station ASAP."

"Not only do you recruit criminals, but former _Cerberus_ criminals? You're pushing what I'm able to believe about the sheer idiocy of you Humans."

Jane whirled around to place a hard glare at Kassaran.

"I'm _quickly_ getting sick of your attitude Ms. Ankara. I want that hole in your face _shut_ until we get back to the Normandy! _Understood_?"

The cabal warrior smirked and nodded.

"Very well, after you, oh _fearless leader_."

Jane sighed and continued through the hallway, along with a scowling Major General. Kassaran grinned as she followed suit. It was hilarious how easy it was to get Humans so riled up.

Exiting the hall out of the other side of the dividing wall, the squad immediately took cover against enemy turret fire.

"Bishop Formation, **now**! Alpha squad, get up on those balconies and take the targets!"

The Cerberus Demolisher shouted as she placed another pylon down, erecting a personal shield generator for her unit. Shepard looked out across the battlefield. Four guardians blocking the path ahead, five Centurion spread out behind them, two engineers preparing turrets on the flanks of the Demolisher, who was firing a heavily modified, fully automatic mattock rifle. Even more troopers were flying up onto the ledges above to assault Jack's group.

"Jack! You okay up there!?"

'Yeah! Just dealing with a few pests, but give us a few minutes! We can't support you with Cerberus on us- Damn it! Rodriguez, I told you to watch your barriers!'

Jacks voice sounded over the radios. Without Jack's support, it would be tricky getting past this enemy unit.

"Kane, you have a shot?"

"Not quite! Think we can thin the numbers a bit?"

Jane smirked as she bounded over her cover. She charged forward into a guardian, knocking his shield away and giving enough time for Alexis to take his head off. Kassaran closed in on her own target, ready to teleport behind the guardian to kill him. Her plan of action was annulled when she saw the man's head explode in a red mist. She turned to glare over at the Major General, who had a haughty smirk on her face as she reloaded her Widow.

"General! Disruptor ammo, now!"

"Affirmative!"

Alexis activated her omni-tool to mod her ammunition, the effects spreading to the hardsuits of the rest of her squad mates. Jane turned to launch a shockwave at a nearby Centurion after firing a shot into his shielding, creating a large flash of electric energy as he was cooked inside of his armor.

Kassaran weaved herself around the remaining two guardians, sliding a venom-tipped blade into one's back before firing her pistol into the side of the other's head. With a twist of her body, she rose up above the final guardian she was latched onto, bringing her blade up and then sliced down, cleaving the enemy soldier in two. As his remains came apart before her, the cabal warrior didn't have enough time to react as an orange projectile flew directly before her. She would have been engulfed in a devastating explosion had it not been for the shot that rang out and disabled the grenade in mid-air. She turned again to see Kane coming out of her cloak.

"Homing grenades! Watch your positions!"

She shouted as she took cover again, narrowly avoiding another grenade as it flew over her head while she descended to explode a distance behind her.

"Four Centurions, two engineers, two turrets and the commander left. Jack, how's it going up there!?"

'Just hold yer damn horses for a few more seconds!'

Jane scowled and stood from her cover, charging into a Centurion and ducking just in time for the Major General to fire another round into him, disabling his shields as she cloaked herself again to maneuver easier across the field. Shepard detonated her barriers in another nova blast, knocking the vice-captain on his back as his fingers involuntarily pulled the trigger on his mattock, firing it into another of his comrades before he found another shotgun slug blast into his face.

The shot distracted the other Centurion for long enough to allow Kassaran teleport before him to lodge her blades into his chest, lifting him up as she then swiftly sliced downward, ripping his body open as a sea of blood poured from his mangled corpse. The turrets began firing once more; making Shepard and her team to take cover again as more arc grenades flew overhead. Jane wasn't able to make it out of the blast radius in time before the surge of electricity shorted out her barriers. Jane fell to the side, convulsing painfully as the enemy Demolisher managed to land a hit on her shoulder, piercing her armor and lodging a bullet into her flesh.

"Augh, fuck!"

Jane seethed in pain as the Major General uncloaked herself on her position, sitting her up against the bench she had used as cover.

"Damn it, Shepard, hold still!"

Alexis growled as she stabbed a vial of medigel into Jane's shoulder, between armor plates and through the torn reinforced fibers of the undersuit she wore. The extreme pain in her shoulder subsided into a numb throbbing as she took up her scimitar again.

"Thanks, Kane."

Alexis popped out of cover to briefly land a hit on another Centurion before he was promptly ripped apart by Kassaran's blades as she dashed through him.

"Oh, Spirits!"

Kassaran exclaimed as she quickly teleported away as the turrets began firing on her, landing several hits into her own barriers before she ducked into cover. Two more engineers entered the field from the side, placing two more turrets on the ground and setting them up as Jane looked on in despair. They wouldn't be able to handle four turrets without sustaining serious injury. They needed support, _right now_.

" **JACK**!"

As if on cue, a massive burst of biotic force smashed the turrets into pieces, launching the Cerberus Demolisher into the wall behind her and effectively tearing the Cerberus engineers to shreds.

"Ugh, damn it! Get some smoke grenades in here and fall back to the shuttle bay! Cut off the targets!"

Two Centurions entered the field, laying down covering fire and blanketing the area in smoke as the enemy commander tossed more arc grenades blindly.

"Kane! Anything?"

The Major General tried to locate the Demolisher through her scope, but could only see a thick fog before her eye.

"Nothing, Commander!"

"Damn it, we'll deal with them later. Kassaran, you alright?"

The cabal warrior huffed in exasperation as she walked over to rejoin the squad. The sound of claw-blades retracting back into her gauntlets was followed by a harsh click of her tongue.

"I don't need you looking after me, I can hand-"

Jane poked a finger at Kassaran's chest plate, an agitated and disgruntled look on her face.

"Look, High-Sergeant, we already know you don't like us but whether you like it or not I will ask you again and _again_ whether you're good or not because you are _part_ of this team. So I'll ask you again, _are_ you _good_?"

Ankara looked down at Shepard's finger on her armor, disgusted and appalled. She looked back up into her emerald orbs, a cold sneer on her face.

"I _would_ tell you my opinion, but I believe your exact words were 'keep that hole in your face shut.' So I will have to say nothing on the matter, _Commander_."

The cabal warrior shoved the gloved hand away as she turned to cross her arms. Jane shook her head and looked up to the balconies that housed Jack and her students.

"Jack! You okay up there?"

'Yeah, a few scrapes but we're alright. Rodriguez took one in the arm because she _didn't watch her barriers_!'

'S-sorry ma'am!'

Jane snickered as she heard the shriveled reply after Jack's booming scold.

"Alright people, let's make for the shuttles. Cerberus isn't going to make this easy for us so be ready for anything."

* * *

" **God damn it**! We need reinforcements here! Get headquarters on the line!"

The Cerberus Demolisher shouted at her remaining forces within the main entrance hall of Grissom Academy. Dealing with Subject Zero and her biotic students was one thing; dealing with _Commander Shepard_ was something entirely different. They didn't have the men or resources to deal with Shepard while also trying to capture Zero and her squad.

"Ma'am, H.Q. isn't responding. The comm buoy in this system is destroyed."

The Demolisher growled in frustration.

"Augh! Alright, get that Atlas operational; be ready to hold them here!"

The Cerberus engineer turned from his work on the large mech before him.

"Ma'am! The Atlas isn't combat ready yet-"

" **I don't care**! Get it moving, NOW!"

"The targeting system isn't ready yet and the electrical system in the leg propulsion is-"

The engineer couldn't finish his sentence before his commanding officer grabbed the Talon pistol from the nearby guardian and lodged a shot into his head, ending his life.

"I'll get it going myself. Set up positions! Shepard isn't going to go down without a fight!"

* * *

"Square-root of nine-hundred-six-point-o' one equals-"

"Thirty-point-one."

David Archer looked up at Shepard, a smile on his face.

"Hullo, Commander Shepard."

Jane returned his smile.

"David, you know them?"

David's smile became wider as Octavia lowered her kinetic barrier.

"Yes. The Commander saved my life. She made it quiet."

Kane stepped forward next to Jane.

"You did good to keep safe from Cerberus. Head up to the higher levels, the biotic students are heading for the shuttle bay. If you meet up with them, they'll keep you safe."

The young engineer nodded her head as she turned to exit the hallway.

"Okay… thanks!"

David rose from his position next to the shield generator. Jane observed his movements, less jerky and mechanical and more human than she remembered. He was in considerably worse condition after she pulled him out of that horrible machine six months ago.

"You look much better. How are you feeling?"

The former Cerberus experiment smiled again.

"I've been counting…

"Anything in particular?"

"The number of days you've lengthened my life."

Jane laughed as she put a hand on David's shoulder.

"Good job on staying alive. Go meet up with the biotic students. We can all get out of here."

David turned to point at the door behind him.

"The security office… I hacked the lock. Guns. Lots of guns. Good luck."

David smiled once more as he turned to leave. Kassaran sneered as he exited but held her tongue, knowing the response to her snide comments would be more frustrating than amusing.

"I'm remiss in remembering that young man in your reports, Commander."

Kane stated as they made their way to the Security office.

"During my mission against the Collectors, we'd encountered a Cerberus operation named 'Overlord' that had gone completely FUBAR and almost unleashed a hostile rouge A.I. on the galaxy. David was at the center of it all, unjustly bound up in an experiment against his will."

Ankara let a sharp exhale out of her throat.

"It seems you're right. Cerberus doesn't enjoy allowing any loose ends to live freely."

"Oh my, that's the first reasonable thing you've said all day! Bravo!"

The Major General clapped in mock applause as the door slid open.

"Alright, can the chatter. Pick up whatever you need in here and move out. We still need to get off of this station."

Jane took a look around the office and her eyes had to stop on a certain piece of equipment at the center, lying on a desk.

"Oh… no way…"

Jane stalked to the center of the room to pick up the M-22 Eviscerator.

"Ahah… my baby's come back to me…"

* * *

A shotgun blast rang out as the head of the final Centurion exploded onto the floor. They had made it past the last of the Cerberus forces and now had to wait for Jack's group to get to the main entrance hall to enter the shuttle bay.

"Jack, is everyone okay?"

Jacks panting voice came over the radio.

'Hah… hah… Yeah, everyone's alive. Making our way to the main hall now!'

Jane nodded as she turned to the hallway they came down.

"Okay, we're waiting here for you. See yah soo-"

A loud explosion sounded to their side as an enormous mech smashed its way through the glass beside them.

"You're not going anywhere, Shepard!"

The Demolisher shouted as she began firing on the group with the mounted cannon on the Atlas' arm, forcing Shepard's squad into cover behind benches and pillars littering the hall.

"Damn it! Jack! There's an enemy mech in the entrance hall! When you get here, **keep low**! Let us deal with it!"

'Okay! Got it, you heard the lady, people! Let's move it!'

Jane took a brief look at the Atlas before ducking again, narrowly avoiding a cannon blast.

"That thing's shielding is too powerful for a straight up fight. Skirt around it, stay out of its line of fire and keep hammering it with everything you've got! That cannon will rip us to pieces if it gets a bead on us!"

Ankara and Kane nodded their heads as they ran out from cover, quickly moving across the field as the Atlas fired. Quickly dodging the massive cannon shots, Kane turned to fire at the mech's shielding, cloaking as she kept moving. Jane and Kassaran moved forward, firing their own weapons into the Atlas.

Alexis appeared again behind the mech and fired into the exhaust port on its back, blocked again by its shielding. However, Kane's disruptor ammunition mod took effect and began eating away at the shielding. Jane took the chance and charged into the Atlas, knocking it back as a loud tech explosion fired off, eating the majority of its shielding.

"Is this it, Shepard!? You can do better than these bug bites!"

The Atlas' arm cannon cocked back.

"Shit! Cover, **now**!"

Jane bounded over to a pillar, while Kassaran stood her ground.

" _Sergeant!_ "

Ankara grinned as the Demolisher's mech fired a large rocket. Kassaran teleported out of existence the instant the missile hit, exploding into a fiery blast. The cabal warrior laughed as she reformed behind the mech, jumping up and sliding her blades into the exhaust port, removing the last of the Atlas' shielding and heavily damaging the heat expulsion system. Using the artificial gravity to her advantage, the High-Sergeant tore her claws downward, the corrosive venom taking effect and eating away at the armor of the Atlas as she landed on the ground and teleported away in a show of acrobatics.

"Now _that_ is how you-"

" **ANKARA, MOVE**!"

Kassaran turned to see another missile slam directly into her front, sending her to the floor. She had been saved by her shields, but her body _burned_ in pain as she tried rising shakily to her feet. She only had a second to realize that a large metal claw grasped her waist and lifted her up into the air. She tried struggling in the mech's grasp but could only gasp as the air left her lungs. The Demolisher brought her up to the pilot's seat window on the Atlas.

"Hmph. Alien scum."

The Cerberus Demolisher pushed a control pump slightly.

" **AAAGH**!"

Kassaran screamed as she felt a steady pressure on her middle, fracturing several internal bones and painfully cracking several sections of her outer carapace. The pressure would have increased had a powerful sniper rifle shot not struck the jointed servo within the Atlas' claw arm. The mechanism locked up as Kane took aim to shoot the wrist of the mech. The shot landed, but failed to open the claw as the Atlas turned to begin shooting again, making Alexis run for cover. Jane launched a biotic shockwave at the wrist mechanism, shaking Kassaran loose and dropping her.

Ankara looked up to see the Atlas' large metal leg come up, time slowed as she saw the foot of the machine make its descent, directly above her. She closed her eyes, seeing flashes of faces in her mind as she accepted her fate. She only wished she could have had the chance-

"KANE, GET HER UP!"

The High-Sergeant's pale green eyes snapped open to see Shepard above her, holding the Atlas' leg biotically. Emerald green stared down at her as she was pulled to the side by Alexis' cloaked form. They both watched as Jane's biotics flared, pushing the Atlas back in a display of sheer biotic power.

"Helloooo dead people! Rip that thing to shreds!"

They heard Jack's voice on the upper level above them as a barrage of biotic blasts slammed into the side of the Atlas. The mech's armor bent and warped as Jane's biotics exploded in a flash of blue, pushing the gigantic machine off of her. Kane aimed and took a shot at the pilot's window, cracking the glass before Jack launched a warp field to weaken it further.

"Do it, Shepard!"

Jane's biotics flared again. She charged upwards into the damaged window and finally shattered it to pieces, exposing the Demolisher while she grabbed onto the top of the broken window to level her Eviscerator at the enemy commander's head.

"How's this for a bug bite?"

With one final blast, the Demolisher's helmet split open, splattering the seat behind her in red as the Atlas toppled over to crumble to the ground. Shepard leapt off of the smoking Atlas and ran to her squad.

"High-Sergeant! Here, easy, easy…"

Jane said as she produced a vial of medigel. Alexis tugged the high collar of the undersuit she wore down as Shepard gently stabbed it into the fleshier portion of her long neck.

"W-why… You should've-"

"I don't want to hear it!"

Jane said harshly as she brought Kassaran's arm over her shoulder, lifting her up carefully and helping her to the shuttle bay with Alexis looking out for any more Cerberus troopers.

"You're part of my team. And I don't just let my team _die_. Like it or not, you're stuck with us, Kassaran."

Ankara looked in disbelief down at the red headed Commander. This _Human_ risked her life to save her, she was even still willing to call her a team-mate even when the cabal warrior knew she had been nothing but acerbic to this woman and her crew.

She looked down at the floor in silence as they boarded the Cerberus shuttle with the other Humans in-tow. She would hold her tongue until they had arrived back on the Normandy. She _was_ still under orders to keep her mouth shut until then.


	13. Treatment

**Disclaimer: Most of the characters and all of the locations, technologies, concepts, etc that appear in this story are property of Bioware/EA.**

* * *

 **This is War**

'Shepard! Damned if you aren't a sight for sore eyes.'

Jane smiled brightly at the familiar face of Admiral David Anderson through the holographic interface of the communications room.

"Anderson! Good to see you're still kicking."

The Admiral returned her smile in spades.

'I'm glad to see you haven't wasted any time getting to work. Good stuff getting those kids off of Grissom Academy.'

"Cerberus wanted to capture them. For what, I don't know. I'll send you the full report later."

Anderson's smile faded from his face with a heavy sigh.

'Pulling them out of one hole with Cerberus, and now we're going to throw them into a ravine with the Reapers. Ugh!'

He exclaimed with clear disdain on his face.

"Also, I think it might be worth it to tell you: Kahlee Sanders made it out alive as well, with the rest of the students."

Anderson breathed a sigh of relief as he turned his head down.

'Good… good. I've lost enough friends in this damn war.'

Jane smirked slightly.

"She asked me to tell you to… 'stay alive.'"

David couldn't resist the chuckle that bubbled up in his throat.

'Hehe… did she now? That might just be the best news I've heard all week.'

"You'll see her again, Admiral. I don't doubt it."

He gazed warmly at his former X.O. as he removed his cap to wipe his forehead.

'I hope so. Right now, friends are a luxury we should cherish more than anything. Anyway, I'll let you get back to it. I'm sure you've got your hands full enough as it is, with this war summit business I'm hearing from Hackett.'

Jane nodded and saluted her Admiral.

"Good luck, Anderson."

'You too, Shepard.'

David returned the salute as his hologram faded away into nothing. Jane sighed and turned from the interface, entering the war room again. She felt a weight lift off of her shoulders to know that David was alive and well.

"Joker, resume our course to the Serpent Nebula. We'll drop off our precious cargo and give everyone a couple hours of R&R. Afterwards, I want us en-route to the Annos Basin."

'Roger that, Commander. ETA to the Citadel: two hours and fifteen minutes.'

"EDI, contact the other summit leaders, tell them we'll be arriving within the day."

"At once, Shepard."

Running slim fingers through a sea of bronze, Jane stepped toward Primarch Victus, who turned in anticipation.

"Commander, Good work on that station. One thing I would rather forget about war is how the younger generation reacts. It's never pretty, seeing them try to cope with death. It's even uglier seeing them throw their lives away in a war none of them wanted."

Jane nodded her head, a solemn expression in her emerald eyes as she watched the holographic war map depict Menae. Reaper forces were still engaged in a brutal ground war with the Turian military as their fleets held off capital ships twenty times bigger than their own.

"Yeah… there… there was a boy, back on Earth. Couldn't have been more than six or seven…"

She took a shaking breath.

"I watched him die as the Normandy escaped the attack. Somehow, I'm alive…"

Jane looked to Adrien, emotion clear in her eyes.

"… and he's not."

The Primarch gingerly placed a hand on Shepard's shoulder.

"We've been in war, Commander. As you said, we know the hell that comes along with it. But we have the chance to make things better. If this goes how we want it to go, we'll be paying the Reapers back three-fold for every loss. We can't lose hope yet."

Jane smiled and turned away from Victus.

"The day I lose hope is the day I die, Primarch."

* * *

"Am I going to have to put you under to get these in place? Stop squirming!"

Doctor Karin Chakwas said irritably as she held Kassaran down on the medical table.

"Turians bones are far more resilient than your flimsy Human bones. There's no need fo-"

"I am _well_ aware of Turian biology and I'm _well_ aware that your bones will heal faster than mine. I am not treating your bones, I am laying anti-bacterial gel and stasis pads onto your outer abdominal shell because without them, you will contract infections along the fissures cause by that mech. If left to heal while untreated, those infections could lead to you losing the ability to feel a good portion of your torso, which may result in a deeper infection causing muscle atrophy and eventual cardiac disease leading to _death_. So _shut up_ and _lay still_!"

At the icy tone of the Doctor, Ankara laid stock still on the table, huffing again in annoyance as she felt Chakwas' gloved hands smooth medical pads over her exposed midriff and chest cartilage.

"I am also well aware of your distaste for Humans, so for the sake of my desire to _not_ have to listen to you blather on about your superiority complex; I want you out of here as quickly and as healthily as possible. Do you have a problem with that, _High-Sergeant_?"

Kassaran's eyes closed as a remorseful frown adorned her face.

"I do not, Doctor."

Karin sighed as she looked at the sullen expression on the cabal warrior's face as she laid another medical stasis pad onto the last visible crack in the Turian's chest.

"Everyone on this ship is going through enough to put lesser people in _tears_. I just don't see why you feel the need to add to it. "

The High-Sergeant's pale green eyes opened to stare into dark sea foam tinted pools.

"How well do you know this Commander Shepard?"

The question was asked in such a soft voice that Karin wasn't sure if she had heard it the first time.

"… Well enough to lay down my life in exchange for hers."

Karin gently patted the Turian's chest and carefully helped her sit up.

"Why? How does she command that much loyalty on this ship?"

The Doctor chuckled as she checked the pads on Kassaran's back.

"She commands that much loyalty from _everyone_ she meets. I've spent less time on this ship than most full-time Alliance medical personnel on any given vessel, and I've seen a wider array of species walk in and out of that door than most clinics on the Citadel. Each of them all having one common trait: They _all_ trusted Shepard. Not because they needed to or because she forced them to, but because they _believed_ in her. Because she _proved_ that they were better people than they thought they could ever be. One prime example is currently making her way to the forward batteries, I'll assume to harass Garrus."

The Turian shifted her eyes to the medbay windows just in time to see the tattooed biotic instructor walking by, holding a pouch of liquid with some kind of tube poking out of it (she had made eye contact with her and promptly proceeded to present her middle finger as she strutted out of sight).

"That woman was the most cynical, hateful, murderous and dangerously volatile person I had _ever_ met who we had to break out of one of the largest interstellar high-security prisons where she was put into solitary cryogenic confinement just so she wouldn't _single handedly_ tear the entire station apart on a _whim_. And now, six months after Shepard's mission against the Collectors, she is a school teacher for biotic children."

Ankara had to gape at the weight of the statement, and the implication behind it. She knew the woman was a scoundrel just from her appearance, but to go from being a convicted criminal to a damned _school teacher_ in such a short amount of time was something that could turn even _her_ head.

"Seeing things like that happen before my very eyes made me believe Shepard is the literal definition of a miracle worker. She commands this kind of loyalty because she gets results that no one else can."

Kassaran lowered her head as Chakwas activated her omni-tool to give her one more scan.

"Okay. All injuries accounted for, just take these to help with healing the rib fractures. Try not to get into any fist fights with giant mechs and you'll be perfectly fine. I expect you back in this medbay within the next two days so I can view your progress."

The High-Sergeant took the offered pills and stood slowly from the medical table to begin adjusting her undersuit to cover her torso. She hesitated when she looked at the metal door. She knew she shouldn't. She should simply walk out of this medbay and be done with it. But she had to know. This Human doctor was most likely the least reliable, most biased source for information, but she needed _something_.

"Doctor."

Karin turned as she held a small data pad in her hand.

"Yes? Anything else?"

Ankara swallowed the lump in her throat, bringing her gaze back up to the Doctor's eyes.

"You… know the conflict you Humans call the Skyllian Blitz… yes?"

* * *

"So, Jack, I'll bet smashing in a couple Cerberus helmets really felt good, huh?"

Jack grinned as she took a swig of the tangy biotic energy drink in her tattooed hand.

"Yeah, I'll admit it was pretty fun. Though I couldn't cut loose like we used to 'cause o' the kids."

"Hmm… Speaking of; Professor Jack? Doesn't quite have a ring to it, but I have to say, it suits you."

Jack snickered and punched Garrus' armored shoulder.

"If it wasn't for your damn suicide squad, I'd probably be on Omega somewhere, drinkin' myself to death and havin' all the sex in the galaxy."

"But you're not, 'cause you're dependable now, right?"

Jane's voice came from the door to the weapon's bay. She grinned as she saw Jack sitting on top of the Thanix cannon next to an assortment of tools as Garrus was neck deep in the main cannon's primary systems.

"I'm still not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing."

"Say what you want, I saw the way you looked at your students. You wouldn't trade them for anything."

Jack shook her partially shaved head as she took another sip of her drink.

"The little shits would be completely lost without me. Gotta keep 'em in line. Reminds me of a certain goody-two-shoes I used to know."

Jane crossed her arms and leveled a playful glare at the former convict.

"What can I say? I do good work."

"I'm sure little-miss Prothean Scientist doesn't complain about the "good work" you do. In bed."

Her bronze hair shook back and forth along with her head.

"Ahah, no comment."

Jack took another swig from the pouch.

"Oho! So the queen of the girl-scouts has a little bad streak to her? Let me know if you ever want a third body. I'm game."

"Don't you have some students to look after?"

Garrus chuckled as he replaced the electric blowtorch in his hand for a more precise soldering gun, ducking into the side of the cannon again. Jack sniffed as she lifted herself from the large weapon to land next to the Archangel's hunched form, making her way to the door.

"Yeah, I'd better wrangle 'em up before they get on that meat-head's nerves in the shuttle bay. Catch yah later, Capone."

A three-fingered hand came up in a wave. As she was moving past Jane, the teacher put a gentle hand on her former Commander's arm.

"Hey… if you ever run into the Cheerleader, tell 'er "fuck you" from me, alright?"

Shepard looked curiously at Jack. Despite the joking manner of the request, there was a glint of seriousness in her dark eyes.

"Yeah, I can do that."

Jack released her arm, a small smile on her lips as she took another sip through the straw and left the main battery. Garrus lifted himself from the opened panel, closing it and returning to the interface at the front of the battery station.

"How's the shoulder?"

The red-head rolled her arm slightly.

"I'll live. Kassaran took the worst of it."

"She's tough. A little squeeze isn't gonna keep her out of the game for long."

Jane looked to the side of the room, eyes uncertain.

"I'm not sure if I want her in the game at all. She's self-centered, arrogant, snooty and obviously racist. She's a hell of a fighter but the way we operated on Grissom Academy was disjointed. I don't know if I want that kind of person on my team."

Garrus turned to look at Shepard, a hard stare on his face.

"Is my hearing going bad, or do you sound like you're going to give up on a squad-mate?"

Jane snickered.

"I said I wasn't sure, _not_ giving up. Your hearing is just fine, pal."

"Oh, good! I was afraid that you were somehow replaced by a clone."

Her snicker turned into a hearty snort as she patted his shoulder.

"Fat chance of that happening. Anyway, we're headed for the Citadel to drop off Jack and her students. We'll have a bit of time before we proceed with the war summit."

"I've gotta ask, Shepard. Do you think this will work? Salarians, Krogan and Turians have long and bloody histories."

Jane's smile fell as her expression became stone.

"It'll be one hell of a short war if it doesn't. If we can't work together, I don't see how we're getting out of this alive."

Garrus smiled and laid a hand on Shepard's back.

"If you're the Shepard I know, we'll be sitting at the bar drinking and comparing kill counts after all this is over with."

The Commander turned with a grin on her face, making her way to the door to the mess hall.

"I'd be more than happy to drink you under the table, buddy."

* * *

 **Thank you for reading and enjoying.**

 **I want to say something. Kane's motivations will be revealed in time. I have things planned for the future, yes, but I want to make something evident: We are not even a _quarter_ of the way into the story. Things _will_ be revealed as this goes on, however, they will be revealed when I deem them appropriate. **

**Once again, I thank each and every one of you for reading this. While I generally write for myself, it pleases me to see people enjoying what I put on here. Thank you, and I hope to have you join me again soon.**


	14. Calm

**Disclaimer: Most of the characters and all of the locations, technologies, concepts, etc that appear in this story are property of Bioware/EA.**

 **Warning: A portion of this chapter contains relatively explicit consensual sexual content featuring a Human female and a slightly no-so Human female. If this bothers you, please feel free to skip to the first line-break you see within the chapter below.**

* * *

 **This is War**

 _Will you join with me, Shepard?_

 _Just tell me what to do…_

Dark blue lips pulled into a content smile at the delightful memory. That wonderful night aboard the SSV Normandy. Her _first_ night. _Their_ first night.

 _Liara…_

The Asari put her data pad down onto the ottoman, reclining back on her bedside couch as she activated her omni-tool. She had been working almost non-stop on deciphering the schematics and texts on the Prothean super-weapon since coming back aboard the Normandy. Even with her resources as the Shadow Broker and the massive effort put forth by Hackett and his Alliance teams, it was still taking too long to figure out what the damned thing would do when assembled and powered up.

Tearing herself away from more unpleasant thoughts, Liara elected to give herself a small break. She would be of no use to anyone if she burned herself out when she was needed most. And right now, what _she_ needed most…

 _Liara_ …

Her omni-tool projected a stilled video onto the glass partition between her bedroom area and her office space. The holographic player depicted Jane's room aboard the Normandy SR2, as it was designed more than six months ago. She glanced over to the door to her room and remotely locked it before hitting play on the video before her. After several seconds of what looked to be a still image of Shepard's captain's cabin, the red-headed Commander stepped onto the screen. Liara had watched this particular video multiple times during her stay at the Mars Archives; it was quite possibly one of her favorites.

The recorded Jane laid herself down on her bed, clad in nothing but a tank-top and a pair of boxers. An enticing sight by itself, but Liara knew what she was looking for. She began to speed up the video, using the small bit of time to remove her gloves, outer coat, and unhook several buckles and buttons to allow her under armor and suit to fall open slightly.

Finally seeing the portion of the video she had desired, the Shadow Broker returned the video speed to normal, just as Jane turned over in her bed for the fifth time before reaching a calloused hand up to a clothed breast.

 _My Liara…_

A shock of arousal hit Liara as she trailed her hands inside her suit, brushing against soft, heated flesh. She watched as the recorded Jane before her slipped her hand upwards into the tank top as her other rubbed small circles into her exposed, muscled stomach. There had been many nights aboard the original Normandy and the SR2 when Shepard simply wouldn't be able to fall asleep. It was one of the byproducts of the terrible nightmares she suffered from.

Many nights aboard the SR1 during the hunt for Saren, Liara would come out into the mess to see a tired Jane idly stirring a cup of coffee that had gone cold long ago. After they had established their relationship, Liara would do whatever she could to soothe her lover, rooting around in Jane's mind to calm her and help her sleep. Many times they had gone to sleep together, embraced in both mind and body.

It made Liara's heart clench painfully in her chest, briefly. How long had Jane been forced to endure the nightmares alone? Alone, without the comfort of anyone being _there_ for her. Liara looked on at the video before her, guilt and arousal mingling in a jumble of emotion as soft sighs escaped her lips. Her Jane had been alone, and she wasn't there for her for _too long_.

Her recorded lover hissed as she finally slid a hand down below the hem of the boxers she wore. Sapphire eyes followed the movements of her hands, the gentle roll of her hips on the large bed, the subtle biting of her lip as her eyes came open to stare half-lidded out of the glass ceiling to the innumerable stars above her.

 _Oh… Liara…_

Yes, this was one of her favorite videos of her lover. Not because of what was shown, but because of what was _and_ wasn't shown. Granted, there wasn't much to be left to the imagination, but what _was_ hidden coupled with what was on display to her made the incline of her arousal spike sharply. The hand down her underwear, the fingers under her top, the way her exposed abdomen rose and fell with her diaphragm. Jane's legs splayed themselves out on the comforter of the bed, strong thigh muscles rippling and straining under lightly freckled skin. Liara briefly wondered exactly what that hand was doing down there. Rubbing into that wonderful bud between her legs? Sliding long, slim fingers into herself? Teasing herself along her fleshy, outer lips? Thinking of the ways her Jane would play with herself made the moisture between her legs all the more apparent as she slid a blue hand down her flat stomach.

'Ahh…'

She saw a rough hand smooth itself over a pert breast underneath Jane's tank. From the small movements under the thin fabric, Liara could tell her fingers had caught an erected nipple. Strong hips ground against her hand beneath plain boxers as the former archaeologist's own hand slid further down, thin fingers touching against the dripping core of her azure. The feeling of her hand made her stomach flop against itself as she jumped at the unexpected haze of arousal clouding her thoughts. She watched as her Jane lifted her hips slightly from the bed, hand still buried beneath her underwear as her breathing became more sporadic and shallow over the next few seconds.

Liara closed her eyes as she simply heard Shepard's gasps and moans from the video. She _wanted_ to seek out her Jane. They were on the same ship, separated only by several layers of steel and plastic walls –not nearly enough to stop either of them. It would be such a simple task of finding her Commander, biotically lifting her up and taking her up to the captain's cabin for a more intense "break" but she knew Jane had so much on her plate already: Earth being attacked, Cerberus running amok, dealing with frightened political leaders and preparing for a summit that was most likely going to be the deciding factor in whether or not they could survive this –not to mention the Prothean device hanging over all of them (truly thinking about it, perhaps she _should_ drag Shepard away for some private time to help clear her head).

Her attention was torn away by a throaty groan from the video before her. The recorded Shepard arched her back off of the bed as her movements became more frantic, more desperate. The tank-top slid upwards with the rise of her torso to reveal more sculpted abs and freckled breasts, one pink nipple between her thumb and forefinger as a wet patch became visible on her boxers. Such a mesmerizing scene only fueled the fire in Liara's crotch. Seeing Shepard – _her_ Jane- like this set her on an irreversible path toward bliss. She could almost _feel_ Jane with her. Their mental link was powerful enough to allow them to sense one-another's presence. Somehow it felt as if Jane was _right there_ , all around her as she moaned again.

Turning her head and closing her eyes, Liara felt herself clench at the slight intrusion of her finger. She wanted her Jane. Badly enough to almost hallucinate those beautiful emerald eyes staring down into her own as she rid her fingers, hips bucking into the air to the delicious sounds of her lover on the video.

For a few incredibly still seconds, as she opened her eyes, she thought she _was_ hallucinating as she saw those exact same eyes bore down into her own sapphire pools. In an instant, she felt a familiar rough hand glide itself along her stomach to join her own hand, gently inserting strong, slim fingers alongside her own. Liara couldn't even choke out a shocked response to her Commander's sudden presence when she felt lips on her own as Jane worked her azure, softly cupping both it and her hand. Liara instinctually reached out to her lover's mind, easily gaining entry as she writhed in enchanting ecstasy.

The pressure on her azure increased while Jane's mind playfully wrapped itself up within Liara's. She could feel her lover prodding old memories of passion and lust within her, igniting her desire with every stroke against and within her crotch. A single thought floated through her mind as Jane pulled back and stared into Liara's eyes.

 _Come for me._

The former archaeologist's solid black eyes rolled backward as she felt herself tumble over the precipice of bliss. Her biotics flared outward, licking the air as the video in front of them was drowned out as she moaned loudly. Liara's body shook and trembled as Jane held her with a strong, gentle hand while Jane's other hand was down between Liara's thighs as her fluids soaked through her under suit. Her consciousness filled with her Jane as her release consumed her for the longest seconds of her life.

Jane felt her own sex clench itself as she experienced the residual effects of the meld. She held her beautiful Asari through her orgasm for several moments before her body finally relaxed itself. Black eyes faded back into deep blue as she felt her lover's mind recede from her own. Removing her hand from Liara's drenched crotch, Jane fully joined her Asari on the couch, holding her closely as the Shadow Broker caught her breath.

"Hah… H-how did… you…"

"I _am_ captain of this ship, remember? Locked doors aren't exactly a problem for me."

Jane grinned as she looked up to the stilled video image, depicting her own body wallowing in its afterglow in her cabin.

"Why didn't you just come to me if you were feeling a little… pent up?"

Liara lowered her head as she buried her face into Jane's uniformed shoulder. Her Commander smelled of the familiar banana scent and she greedily inhaled the wonderful aroma as it wafted from her love.

"I… didn't want to… distract you from…"

Jane reached a dry hand up to Liara's crests, gently stroking the blue flesh and watching in delight as her lover sighed and leaned into her touch.

"I'm sure I can fit you into my busy schedule… in fact, I'm pretty sure _you'd_ have no trouble making my busy schedule disappear completely."

Liara allowed a small chuckle past her lips as she lifted her head up to meet emerald eyes.

"I just want to make sure my Commander is fit and ready for… whatever _comes_."

Jane reeled back at the innuendo, a playful smirk on her face.

"Well… I can think of a few ways we can become _fit_ and _ready_ together."

Liara's mouth stretched in a smile as she took Jane's hand that had joined hers moments before. Bringing it up to her face, Liara's smile turned devilish as she took a still moist finger into her mouth, gently lapping and sucking at the appendage and tasting her own fluids.

Jane's pearly teeth caught her lower lip as she watched the display of libidinous affection. Liara opened her mouth to allow Shepard an unobstructed view of her violet tongue swirling around her captured finger. The Commander simply couldn't hold back as she dove down to fuse her pink lips to Liara's blue ones.

Another meld was formed between them as soft moans sounded from behind the relocked door to Liara's office.

* * *

Sky-blue eyes watched in a contented stare as Shepard and Liara walked through the Presidium Commons. Kane had never really been to the Citadel as a tourist before. All of her visits had been strictly for military business. Technically, she _was_ on business here, but she still had free reign to go where ever she desired.

"Major General!"

Alexis turned to see Communications Specialist Samantha Traynor saluting her. Kane smiled and waved the flustered Specialist over.

"We're off-duty, you don't have to salute."

Samantha laughed nervously as she stepped over to the railing Alexis rested against.

"I know, it's just- well, it's a bit of a habit, really."

She stammered as they looked out to the Presidium.

"It's… so peaceful here. It's like there isn't a war going on."

Alexis looked down to the market floor, where she saw Shepard engaged with EDI while Liara spoke to Joker.

"It won't matter how peaceful it is anywhere. The Reapers will be _everywhere_ soon."

"Not unless we stop them, right? I mean, this- all this…"

Traynor gestured to the Presidium around them.

"… is why we're fighting. Trying to preserve this so all these people can go on."

The Major General looked to Samantha through gray-blonde strands. What a peculiar woman.

"You're a very optimistic person, aren't you Traynor?"

Sam smiled anxiously.

"My parents always said: 'The best outlook is the happiest outlook, or there's not much reason to look at all.'"

"Hah… Your parents Alliance?"

The Specialist shook her head, looking back out to the artificial sky above.

"No… They hated the military. Always thought that if we need to hold up a gun to get help, then the help isn't worth it. But… they knew the Alliance had funded my University tuition."

Sam took a small, shaky breath. Kane noticed it. She was doing a good job at keeping herself together.

"When I told them I'd decided to stay… they supported me. Said they loved me more then they hated the Alliance."

"I can admire that. My parents were the same way. Whatever my sister and I set our sights on, they would be proud of us whether we succeeded or failed."

Traynor smiled as she laid her gaze back on clear blue eyes.

" _That's_ what we're fighting for. So parents can keep being proud of their children. So children can keep doing the things they love."

Alexis chuckled quietly.

"Don't change, Samantha. The galaxy needs more people with your kind of attitude."

Traynor's cheeks lit up in a deep blush as she tore her gaze away from her superior's eyes.

"I-I'll do my best, Ma'am."

"Oh, none of that. We're off-duty. Call me Alexis. Or Kane, if you'd prefer."

Sam quietly damned her ability to be so easily embarrassed as she fought valiantly to keep the blush off of her face.

"O-okay, Ma'a- Miss Kane!"

Alexis hummed a quiet laugh in amusement as they fell into a comfortable silence, simply watching the Presidium. After a few minutes, Samantha posed a question she had been wondering about since their conversation turned to relatives.

"Are you close with your sister? I'm an only child so…"

The Major General sighed as her thoughts became melancholy.

"We were… When she married, things became… tense between us."

"I'm sorry to hear… Is she…?"

Alexis knew the unasked question. Her eyes turned downward.

"I don't know… The last time I spoke to her, she was in London."

Kane felt Samantha's gaze on her as she clenched her jaw. She truly wished Allie was alive…

"Well, if she's anything like you, she'll probably be sitting on a pile of dead Reapers by the time we get back."

Alexis laughed fully at the thought as she turned to Traynor.

"Hahah, Allie wouldn't hurt a fly, but if she saw one of her friends get hurt… I wouldn't put it past her to have already ended the war when we're ready to return."

They both had a small laugh as Sam looked back out to the Presidium. Her eyes caught a flash of red hair and smiled as she saw Jane make her way around the market district below. Another thought occurred to her.

"Pardon me for asking, but… Why exactly are you with us?"

Kane turned to look at the Specialist.

"N-not that I'm ungrateful for it! I mean, you're a marvelous sniper from what I've seen and heard. I'm not one to look a deadly gift horse in the mouth but… According to Alliance regs, at least and barring the rank of N7, you out-rank Shepard. With your kind of background, with Torfan and all, you could take your pick of almost any garrison in the Alliance Navy… so why stay with us?"

Alexis brought her gaze back out to the trading floor of the Presidium Markets. Sky-blue eyes landed on the Commander speaking with an older looking Turian sitting on a bench. Her eyes took a sidelong look at the Specialist. Should she tell this woman whom she'd met less than two days ago?

Kane sighed.

"Officially, I'm currently on a 'temporary leave of absence.' I asked Hackett personally. He's an old friend, and a good man. He understood. I'm here because I don't _want_ to be in command of a garrison. Because I envy Shepard for everything she's done with such a small team. Because I miss my own squad."

She watched as Jane made her way back across the trading floor to rejoin Liara, taking the Asari's hand. The Major General smiled. Perhaps she shouldn't tell the Specialist, but it wouldn't hurt anything to let her know where she stood.

"… And I made a promise to someone… an even older friend than Steven, before all this started. I owe them my life, and I would rather die than break my promises."

Sam felt her eyes widen at the statement. She hadn't expected this kind of answer from the Major General. They slipped back into a comfortable silence and the communication Specialist unconsciously slid herself closer to the Major General.

Kane turned an amused eye to Sam, noticing their proximity. A peculiar woman, indeed.

"Traynor, are you opposed to having a drink with a superior officer?"

Samantha's eyes widened and her mouth tripped over her words.

"W-what? I don- I mean yes I- no I- urgh!"

She shook her head, dark hair flailing wildly as she composed herself.

"I-I don't normally drink, but considering the circumstances…"

Kane smiled brightly.

"Good, because I feel like we could both use a bit of a distraction. C'mon then!"

Grabbing the flustered Specialist, Alexis proceeded to drag the darkly tanned woman to the elevator. Samantha could smell a slight hint of vanilla as she accidentally bumped into Alexis' shoulder from being pulled into the elevator. The familiar and incredibly annoying heat crept up her neck again as they made their trip to Purgatory.

* * *

"The nurse said you checked in on me earlier. Guess I was still out cold, huh?"

Ashley said as she sat in her bed, cradling the poetry book her Commander had purchased for her in her good hand. It was less painful to look at Ash this time around. Her face was still discolored, but many bandages had been removed and much of the swelling beneath the bruises had faded.

"Yeah. I'll admit, it was… pretty hard… seeing you like that."

Williams smiled slightly as she turned her eyes to Jane. According to the nurse who had told her, Shepard had been on the verge of tears at the end of her visit. The thought of her Commander _crying_ over her was almost enough to get her to start weeping. If she cared that much, even while she was unconscious…

"I figured we could have that talk, if you're up for it."

Ashley adjusted her position on the bed, turning slightly toward the freckled Commander.

"I'm… not sure if there's much to talk about. I was thinking over what you said on Mars."

"Ash, I'm-"

Ashley leveled a glare at Shepard.

"No apologizing. _I'm_ the one who should be sorry. What I said… it _was_ unfair. It was unfair to you and all the things you did, all the things we went through. I… I couldn't see past your involvement with Cerberus to really understand. And I…"

The Lieutenant-Commander felt herself choke up as tears sprung from her eyes. Her good hand dropped the book onto the floor as it came up to her eyes, desperate to keep herself composed in front of the woman she loved and respected above all others. The effort was in vain as she felt a hand grasp her shoulder. The floodgates cracked and broke as the first watery beads trailed down her bruised cheeks.

"I-I hurt you because of it! I was so… wrapped up in what you _could_ have been, what I _thought_ you were, that I didn't see your side; I didn't give your feelings any consideration! I –sniff- I-!"

Uniformed arms came up to wrap themselves around her shoulders. All thoughts within her head stopped as Ashley's face was buried in her Commander's shoulder. After several shocked moments, the Lieutenant-Commander sat up fully from her bed, ignoring the sudden pain in her skull, to grasp dearly at the red-head. A torrent of emotion washed over her as she was held by her Commander, quiet sobs wracking her body all the while.

"Ash… You're one of the strongest women I've ever known."

Ashley lifted her throbbing head from Jane's now soaked shoulder.

"W-wha-"

"I'm sorry."

Chocolate eyes slid open wider as they stared into Jane's emeralds.

"But-"

"Ash, _I'm_ _sorry_. You shouldn't have to go through this. You're one of the best friends I could ever hope for. I _trust_ you."

With a hard sob, Ashley pushed herself into Jane's shoulder again, simply feeling her Commander around her. She knew they still needed to talk of her feelings toward Shepard, but right now she simply wanted to bask in the wonderful arms encircling her, powerful and secure. She could practically feel those deep emerald eyes on her from above.

Williams always knew those eyes could never lie. Not to a friend. Not to her.


	15. Negotiation

**Disclaimer: Most of the characters and all of the locations, technologies, concepts, etc that appear in this story are property of Bioware/EA.**

* * *

 **This is War**

"The Krogan has a name! Urdnot Wrex!"

The guards outside the door to the meeting room jumped at the loud boom of a deep voice from within as Jane shook her head. Stepping out of the scanner and through the metal door, the gravelly voice bellowed even louder.

"And I am _not_ some junk-yard varren you can just unhook from a leash whenever you want something dead!"

Kane crossed her arms as she observed the meeting. The summit was underway, and it was going about as well as she thought it would. She turned to see the Commander enter the meeting room, an exasperated expression on her freckled face.

"I see everyone's making nice…"

The High-Sergeant chuckled quietly as she leaned against the glass wall beside Primarch Victus.

"The Krogan have always been savages, not politicians. You should return to Tuchanka where you belong, let the real leaders of the galaxy direct where your guns should be pointing."

Dalatrass Linron sneered at Wrex as she leaned against the center table. Wrex glared at the incorrigible Salarian as Jane began speaking.

"This war is going to affect _all_ of us unless we come to an agreement _together_. Our problems are only going to multiply the longer we stay here."

"And those problems are already cropping up. I've got soldiers telling me Reaper scouts were sighted on Tuchanka."

The clan-chief turned to Primarch Victus.

"So tell me one good reason why I should give half a maw's ass about a few Turians?"

Adrien shook his head as he looked at Wrex.

"We don't have time for trivial political tactics. It'll just end in frustration for both of us. Just _tell_ us what you want!"

The massive Krogan grinned as he placed both hands onto the table before him.

"Getting right to the point, eh? Fine."

Wrex shot a gaze directly at Linron.

"What I _need_ is a cure for the genophage."

Several seconds passed in silence before Kassaran burst out laughing. All heads turned toward the High-Sergeant as she doubled over and held a hand to her side.

"Ahahahaha! Ohohahaha! Oh, y-you're serious? _Ahahahaha!_ "

Kane rolled her eyes as Shepard's scowl grew deeper.

"Absolutely not! The genophage is non-negotiable."

The Commander turned her head to the hooded Salarian.

"Your concerns, Dalatrass?"

Linron crossed her arms as she glowered at Wrex.

"My _concern_ is the future of _all_ of our species. A future which will be put at risk if the Krogan expand unrestrained again!"

"I won't allow a repeat of the rebellions to happen. The Krogan were ignorant, fighting in a war they didn't understand because _you_ needed us. The Salarians, the Turians, and the Asari all _needed_ us because we could fight where you couldn't. It was _our_ blood and bone that exterminated the Rachni! Then you threw us away like a damn tool and _sterilized_ us!"

"You became troublesome. The genophage was the only way to keep your… ' _urges_ ' in check.

Wrex briefly wondered if the glass behind the Dalatrass was strong enough to withstand a Salarian body being smashed into it repeatedly by a Krogan fist.

"Dalatrass, whatever your feelings are on the subject are beside the point. The Krogan have suffered enough."

Jane stated with a hard look at the Salarian. Victus nodded his head across from her.

"I agree. We need them, now more than ever."

The High-Sergeant stopped snickering at the tone of Adrien's voice.

"What? You can't possibly agree with this, Primarch. We can't risk another Krogan rebellion no matter the circumstance!"

Wrex glanced over to Ankara.

"You must be hard on hearing, buttercup. Any clan who would take up arms against another race would be crushed immediately under my rule. I _will not_ allow my race to sink that low again."

Linron scoffed as she paced across the room.

"You are one Krogan. Even if I believed your intention, Salarians know the Krogan best. We uplifted you for one thing: War. It's all you know because it's all we _wanted_ you to know. Opinions and good-will will not change _fact_."

Kane stepped forward beside the Commander.

"Opinions and good-will have changed more in the past. Your people made a decision. The ethics of that decision are moot now. It's time to focus on the threat at hand because soon, there won't be a future for _anyone_ if the Reapers aren't challenged."

Ankara shook her head, turning her gaze to the Major General.

"Let's say this stunt works, we defeat the Reapers and then what? Do you really think the galaxy will be a safer place with _them_ running amok? I don't see how any good can come of this."

Alexis met the Turian's glare with her own, frustration welling up inside her.

"And do _you_ have a plan? I'm sure we'd _all_ love to hear what you've thought up."

"All I'm suggesting, _Major General_ , is that we may want to look for another solution before resorting to-"

Wrex interrupted the exchange.

"Now listen here! The genophage has been affecting my people for one-thousand-four-hundred-seventy-six years. I think we've paid enough for our 'crimes' in the past."

The hooded Salarian pointed an irate finger at the clan leader.

"It was a thousand years of peace, free from these _brutes_!"

" **Enough**! We've wasted enough time here arguing over something that would take years to complete anyway!"

Victus' voice echoed off of the glass walls of the meeting room. Wrex grinned at the Primarch and moved toward his side of the room.

"My information says otherwise."

Moving aside to make space for the Krogan's large form, Victus observed as Wrex activated the small panel in the desk. A large screen of video footage appeared behind them depicting what looked like a research facility, populated by Salarians.

"Shepard, you saw the Salarian named Maelon on Tuchanka six months ago, conducting tests on our females, right?"

Jane nodded her head, remembering the numerous fanatical Weyrloc Krogan and the dead bodies littering their buildings where the former STG member worked.

"I wish I didn't. His experiments were brutal."

"What you _didn't_ see were the females who _survived_ his experiments."

The video shifted to kinetic holding cells. Within several were obscured Krogan forms, slimmer and shorter than a standard male Krogan.

"According to _my_ sources, these females are immune to the genophage. The Dalatrass obviously saw this as a threat to her 'ideals' about the Krogan, so she sent a team in after your mission to scoop them up right from under our noses. We thought all the females who volunteered had died in that hospital, but you've been holding them hostage for over six months!"

Dalatrass Linron gaped at the footage.

"W-what? This is preposterous, this is obviously a fabrica-"

" **Don't lie to me**! Lie to yourself all you want, but those are _my_ people, and I want them _back_! They're the only chance my race has against your precious genophage."

Jane laid a glare in Linron's direction.

"You call the Krogan barbaric and yet you do _this_ to them?"

Even Kassaran had to shake her head at the situation.

"I've no love for the Krogan and I'm still skeptical of this plan, but holding prisoners isn't something I support. You should have at least killed them to avoid this eventuality, Dalatrass. Very sloppy on your part, I thought Salarians were smarter than this."

Alexis rolled her eyes again at Ankara's statement, crossing her arms and holding her gaze at Linron.

"While I disagree with half of the High-Sergeant's statement, I surprisingly agree with the other half. They should be freed to their people, immediately."

The hooded Salarian lowered her head.

"And how will curing the genophage help _my_ people?"

"How long do you think the Salarians will last _alone_ against the Reapers, Dalatrass? If you don't help, _that's_ how things will end for you. Helping the Krogan will help you in the long run."

Jane said with a frown. Victus stepped beside Linron, a hard edge to his voice.

"You withdraw yourself now, Dalatrass, and you can expect us to be the last friendly Turians you'll ever see."

Kane snickered and leaned over to whisper into Shepard's ear.

"At least he can say that for himself."

The Commander held back a smirk. The Salarian put a three-fingered palm to her face. This ill-fated mission would spell the end of the galaxy as they knew it, but she was backed into a corner. She sighed in defeat.

"The females are being kept at an STG base on Sur'Kesh."

Jane rose from her hunched position at the table and began her way to the entrance of the meeting room. Wrex's deep, gravelly voice sounded from his throat.

"We'll need the coordinates. If the location isn't the same as the one on the video and no females are there to be found, you can be damn sure we'll be back for some answers."

The Dalatrass sniffed in indignation as she pointed a finger at Shepard.

"Let me warn you, Commander! Your actions in this matter-"

Jane turned angrily to glower at Linron.

"Will mean _nothing_ if we don't win this war."

"You can't simply land on Sur'Kesh and expect them to hand the females over, this-"

Victus raised a hand to stop the Dalatrass.

"You forget, Dalatrass, that the Commander is a Council SPECTRE. She has the authority to oversee the transaction. This _will_ happen, whether you want it to or not!"

The occupants of the room began filing out of the glass portion of the room.

"Let's not give the Salarians time to set up some kind of trick!"

Jane nodded.

"Agreed. Joker, set a course for Sur'Kesh. We're paying a visit to the Salarian home world."

'Aye aye.'

Kassaran turned to regard the red-haired Commander ahead of her. The High-Sergeant had to admit, she was a force to be reckoned with on the battle field (for a Human, at least). Yet, something didn't make sense. Perhaps it was a matter of circumstance that she had no context to at the moment. This woman single handedly defended the Human colony of Elysium and essentially saved the colony, yet…

Ankara shook herself. She would get her answers. She turned to the Primarch, speaking in a hushed voice.

"Sir, are you sure this is the right course of action? We don't have any guarantees of this Krogan's nobility in his claim to bring his people up properly in the galaxy."

Adrien sighed and regarded the High-Sergeant. He understood where she was presenting her case. The Krogan were often considered violent and untoward.

"Whether it's the right call or not is irrelevant. If we want to see Palaven again, we need this alliance. Besides…"

The Primarch turned to see Jane and Wrex speaking amongst themselves. The Krogan had a large grin on his face as he laid a hand on Shepard's shoulder. He then turned to look Kane up and down before properly introducing himself and taking her hand in a bruising handshake.

"Shepard trusts him. I know that won't mean much to you, but we're living in strange times, Ankara. They're only going to get stranger."

He said as he exited the meeting room to return to his position in the war room. Kassaran took another glance at Jane as she, the clan leader, and the Major General made their way through the scanning room. Her face was as unreadable as her thoughts.


	16. Survivor

**Disclaimer: Most of the characters and all of the locations, technologies, concepts, etc that appear in this story are property of Bioware/EA.**

* * *

 **This is War**

"ETA to STG base: two minutes, Commander!"

Jane patted Cortez's shoulder as she turned to enter the seating area of the shuttle. Wrex checked his M-300 Claymore for what looked to be the eighteenth time.

"Hopefully, if this goes as we planned, you won't be using that thing."

The clan chief grinned as he slid a thermal clip in place.

"Can never be too careful. You of all people should know that."

Jane smiled at her large friend.

"I'm just being cautiously optimistic. We swing by, pick up the females, and leave. No harm in hoping for the best."

"I trust you, Shepard. I _don't_ trust them."

Jane took the overhead handlebar to steady herself in the rocking shuttle.

"You'll get your cure, Wrex. The Salarians are smart enough to know that double crossing us will end badly for everyone."

Wrex huffed as he checked his shotgun once more.

"A cure… We've lived with the genophage for an Asari lifetime and a half. To see it so close… We _can't_ afford for this to be a trick. Especially not while the Reapers are here."

"We will retrieve the females, Wrex. Then your people will live without the genophage for the rest of _all_ of our lifetimes after this war is over."

Liara's voice floated through the shuttle as she joined the conversation. Wrex turned to regard the former archaeologist.

"That's what I always liked about you, Liara. Always know what to say and when to say it to make someone feel at ease."

The Asari smiled as she came up to Shepard's side.

"What can I say? It's a bit of a gift, I guess."

"Hahah! A dangerous gift, lets you get someone off their guard. Wouldn't want anyone else along for the ride."

A rough voice cleared its throat loudly. Wrex turned to smirk lopsidedly at the source beside him.

"I guess there's enough room for you too, Garrus. Maybe if you squeeze in on someone's lap."

The Archangel shot a flippant glare at Wrex. The clan chief only laughed at the look.

"I wouldn't want to steal all the seats. Goodness knows you need them. All that time sitting on a throne really slows down the metabolism. Makes everything go straight to your hips."

A loud barking laugh filled the space as Wrex shoved the Turian lightly (Garrus still knocked into the shuttle door from the force of the push).

"Still love ta' run yer mouth, eh Garrus? Haha!"

"Commander! We've arrived at the STG base, but…"

Jane turned to step over to the cockpit of the shuttle.

"What is it?"

"Salarian ground control says we don't have clearance to land."

Jane's eyes widened as she crossed her arms. The Salarians wouldn't betray them. Not now.

"I knew it! I knew they wouldn't keep their word!"

Liara looked on worriedly as Wrex made his way to the door of the shuttle.

"Wrex, I'm sure it is just a misund-"

"Let's see 'em try to stop a Krogan air drop!"

Jane whirled around as she heard the manual override activate as the shuttle door slid open.

"Wrex!"

With a loud shout, the clan leader leapt out of the shuttle and landed onto the floor of the STG base.

'We have an unauthorized landing! Security teams to station b12, Security teams to b12!'

Salarian operatives surrounded Wrex in an instant, readying their weapons.

"And who authorized _you_ to hold _my_ race hostage!"

Wrex roared as he launched a biotic throw blast wide enough to send the Salarians flying, but not lethal enough to kill. He retrieved his Claymore from his back only to see dozens of laser sights on his body. Sniper units were all over the rooftops of the base. More Salarian soldiers surrounded the Krogan as Jane, Liara and Garrus joined Wrex on the ground.

"Wait! Wait! Let's all just calm down!"

"Stand down! Hold your fire!"

An STG captain came up to the group, shoving his way past the soldiers before him.

"Commander, please restrain your colleague! We only found out about this exchange a few moments ago!"

Jane looked to the captain.

"I'd like to avoid a diplomatic incident but there's something extremely valuable to Wrex here."

The Urdnot clan chief grunted in agreement.

"Something worth dying over!"

The Salarian looked between Jane and Wrex frantically.

"I understand that! We can sort this out peacefully but I _must_ insist that he remain under guard!"

Jane turned to look over at Wrex. The only time she had seen him this anxious was two and a half years ago, on the planet Virmire where he had been willing to die over Saren's genophage cure.

"I can _handle_ this Wrex, trust me."

Wrex looked to Shepard briefly. If anyone could get this done, he _knew_ Shepard could. He growled at the Salarian captain and holstered his shotgun.

" _Anything_ goes wrong and you can expect me to start shooting."

The shuttle set itself down behind them as Jane and her squad was led to the main area of this portion of the research facility.

"I am Padok Wiks. I thank you for your delicacy in this situation, Commander. Whispers of the war have spread even this far and our people are on edge."

"I can understand the need for extra security. Hopefully what we have planned will help with the war effort."

The group came down the small flight of stairs and looked on to see a holding cell moving overhead. Its occupant was a lone Yahg, kicking and punching at the kinetic barrier walls of the cell as it descended. Images of a Revenant heavy assault rifle's barrel flashed through her mind as she suppressed a twinge of fear. The last time they had encountered a Yahg; he had put up a grueling fight and would have _killed_ her and her team had he not been careless. Liara felt the unease in Jane's consciousness and silently reached out to brush herself against her lover's mind in an act of comfort. The red-haired Commander glanced back briefly to flash a warm smile at her lover.

"As you can see, this base contains rather sensitive information. We can't just allow guests to wander about."

Jane turned to look at Wiks and back to the holding cell.

"The work that goes on here seems pretty elaborate."

Wiks smiled.

"To anyone else, yes. But it is our passion. Morphological tests, evolutionary trials, exogenetic experiments."

"Nothing's ever simple with Salarians, is it?"

The captain laughed quietly as they continued to walk.

"Those are just the ones I'm allowed to tell you about, Commander. The research and information that goes around within the STG has kept Sur'Kesh and our many colonies safe for millennia."

Liara stepped up to join Wiks and Shepard.

"We are here because we had heard from the Dalatrass that the Krogan females you picked up on Tuchanka are here. They are desperately needed."

Wiks regarded Liara with a nod.

"They are. But you must understand, when we found them on Tuchanka, they were in extremely poor condition. They were brought here not as prisoners, but as patients. We wanted to stabilize their condition."

"We'll need to see them, immediately."

Wiks nodded again to Jane. He had always appreciated Humans for being so straight forward.

"Of course, I'll need to clear you through the lower levels. I'll need a few moments, please feel free to look around, then meet me at the elevator across the way when you're ready."

Wiks said as he walked off to work on a panel nearby. Jane took a moment to familiarize herself with the surroundings. Various experimental stations and equipment littered the level her team currently stood on. A small set of stairs to the right led to an elevated platform where another holding area could be seen. Numerous Salarians milled about the facility, resuming their work after Wrex's interruption moments before. She looked apologetically at a few operatives who limped slightly, no doubt thanks to her large friend's show of force.

"This is where you Salarians come from, eh? Makes sense, this place is just as soft as you are."

The Krogan in question was currently leaned up against the side of the wall beside them.

"Looks can always be deceiving, Wrex."

"Hmph! That's why it should be _me_ going in. Never know what's going through a Salarian's head."

Jane crossed her arms.

" _Or_ we could fight one war at a time if you just let me deal with it. We'll get enough target practice with the Reapers bearing down on us."

Wrex shook his head and grunted roughly.

"Ever since I laid my eyes on Sovereign, it made me realize something. The Krogan have spent too much time selling out as mercenaries and fighting amongst ourselves. If we want a bigger part in the galaxy, we need to step up and do what we do best…"

His large mouth opened to grin at Jane.

"Saving the galaxy from giant monsters."

Garrus laughed quietly.

"You realize the Rachni wars are over, right?"

"Hey, until you get your own statue I think we still have the right to gloat, hehe."

The former C-sec agent turned to look out at the sky above the base.

"I'm sure we'll be able to commission one after this war is over. Though I'd imagine every race will, if this goes well for us."

Jane smiled as she looked back at Garrus.

"Let's not count our chickens just yet. We still need to _win_ this war, after all."

Liara stepped up next to Wrex as he hunched over the nearby experiment station.

"Wrex, you said you saw Reapers on Tuchanka. Do you have any idea what they may be up to?"

Wrex shook his head as his smile fell from his face.

"I wish I did. From the reports I got from clans Jorgal and Ranavor, an advance party was sighted but they haven't arrived in force. Not yet, at least. They're preparing for something."

A determined frown adorned his wide face.

"Tuchanka may be a pile of radioactive rubble… but it's _our_ pile! And we'll fight to the very last Krogan body to keep it that way."

Liara smiled as she laid a hand on Wrex's shoulder plate.

"Your race has always been so indomitable even in the bleakest of situations. That kind of fortitude is going to pay off greatly."

"And here I thought you were finally succumbing to my smoldering good looks, Haha! But I guess I just can't compete with red hair and freckles."

Wrex's low chuckle filled the air around them as Liara jokingly slapped at his chest plate. Jane rolled her eyes as she smiled. A thought occurred to her as she turned her head toward the facility, observing the many Salarians going about their business.

"I've gotta ask: who tipped you off about the females? As useful as it was, I can't imagine many Salarians would want to help."

A deep hum resounded from Wrex's throat as he leaned against the wall again.

"I don't think it'd be very smart to talk about that, not in front of 'guests' anyway. I'd rather discuss the seasonings on Salarian liver recipes. What's that stuff you Humans have, cay-yane pepper?"

The Salarian guards shifted uneasily as Wrex laughed.

"Besides, I'll bet you'd be able to get that kind of information from the Shadow Broker. It's a shame we don't know him… or _her_."

Liara's eyes widened slightly as she saw the amused look Wrex shot at her. She would most definitely need to comb through her network for another week for any more leaks. _In addition_ to upgrading software security five-fold immediately when they returned to the Normandy.

Jane practically felt the worry from her lover's mind and silently reached out to brush against Liara's mind. Blue lips pulled into a smile as she returned to Garrus' side.

"We'll talk later, Wrex. Just sit tight, we'll get the females outta here."

"Good! 'Cause I'm getting hungry. I hear Salarians are pretty filling despite how skinny they are."

The guards around Wrex awkwardly shifted again as the Krogan clan leader laughed louder.

* * *

"Shepard! Excellent timing, good to have you here!"

Ex-STG operative and accomplished scientist Mordin Solus waved Shepard and her squad over. Many more Salarian soldiers and researchers rushed about the interior of the base as they stepped out of the elevator. The base was on high alert from something, as evidenced by the various security announcements sounding off overhead. The darkly lit room they moved through looked strikingly similar to the environment they saw in Wrex's video footage Jane had seen during the summit meeting.

"Mordin? What're you doing here?"

Jane said with a surprised smile on her face as she shook his thin hand.

"Good to see eyesight is still sharp. Surprise expected. Hadn't anticipated returning to work."

"You're back with STG? I thought you'd retired for good."

Mordin turned to smile at Garrus.

"Special consultant. Work here close to work during genophage operations. Had to be involved, wouldn't want to see it handed off, _my_ responsibility. Had to be me."

His dark eyes shifted back to Jane, smile growing wider.

"Someone else might have gotten it wrong."

Liara walked over to Mordin, sapphire eyes looking around the room as she leaned in to speak in a lowered voice.

"You are Wrex's inside source, aren't you?"

Mordin nodded.

"Yes. Helped female Krogan to best of abilities so far. Encouraged political pressure to free females to rest of Krogan. Fed information to Urdnot.

He said surreptitiously. Jane quietly stared at Mordin as the pieces fell into place within her head.

"You support a cure for the genophage."

The ex-STG veteran nodded again.

"Also correct. Will discuss in detail later, security threat not normal. Need to get offworld immediately, for sake of Krogan. Weakened immune systems from Maelon's cure left them feeble, too weak to fight off infection. Unfortunate."

Mordin turned to lead the group to the lower portion of the facility, down another flight of steps to a holding unit containing several wrapped up bodies. They were too big to be anything other than Krogan.

"These… didn't survive."

He said as he lowered his head. Jane watched a pained expression wash over his face as Mordin closed his eyes.

"I'm sure you did everything you could, Mordin."

The Salarian scientist shook his head and opened his eyes, staring deeply at the dead bodies.

"Arrived too late. Could not save them before infections moved into damaged tissue. Maelon's cure disrupted auto-immune response. My fault, indirect result of genophage work. Maelon's doing, but my student, my responsibility."

Jane laid a hand on Mordin's shoulder. She knew he had struggled with himself after his work with the re-engineered genophage. He was still trying to find a way to atone for his sin.

"Mordin, you can't blame yourself for what someone else did."

The Salarain sighed and then smiled; bringing his thin fingers up to grip Shepard's gloved hand.

"Cannot help the dead. Can only do better by them. _No more dead_. Maelon's cure data invaluable in work here."

"We saved his data, didn't we?"

"Indeed. However, Maelon could not find proper cellular transmission vectors to propagate distribution of cure to affected organ tissue, resorted to bombardment of cellular structures to alter hormone levels. Missing core structure for genophage expulsion throughout glands and various other tissues. Other problems, too long to discuss. Results from his work… unsuccessful in these subjects. Data saved was incomplete, still not enough information available to reconstruct cure and fix his mistakes. Still more useful than starting over completely."

Mordin turned to walk to the center of the room, leading the group toward another larger tank holding.

"One survivor. Immune to genophage. Can extract tissue to synthesize base structure for cure, then release female back to Krogan unharmed and healthy once bolstering of immune system sufficient for proper survival against cellular infections."

"She's here? Is she alright?"

"Yes, for now. Last hope for Krogan. _Cannot_ allow her to die."

Arriving in front of the tank, Jane observed its sole occupant. A lone female Krogan, wrapped from head to toe in peculiar but elaborate robes. Only her eyes were visible as they blinked down at the Commander.

"Caution, Krogan slow to trust."

"I'm Commander Shepard, Alliance Navy."

Several seconds passed as the female Krogan stared at Jane.

"…Are you here to kill me?"

Shepard's brow furrowed at the question.

"No. I'm here with Urdnot Wrex. We've come to take you home."

"… Why? What am I to you?"

Jane stepped forward, a determined look in her emerald eyes.

"The future of the Krogan. With your help, your people will flourish again alongside the rest of the galaxy as allies."

"… A noble goal. But the means to such aims are often anything _but_ noble. "

The robed female looked back at the tank housing the dead Krogan across the room.

"Those are my sisters you saw back there. They died in a lot of pain. And now I know I'm the only one left. That makes me dangerous to a lot of people."

Before Shepard could respond, blaring sirens sounded throughout the room as flashing red light came to life around them.

"…And it seems some of them have come to assuage that danger."

'Alert! Unidentified vessels have breached perimeter barriers. All squadrons scramble for interception. Lock down all projects. Mobilize security teams immediately.'

The Salarian soldiers and scientists throughout the room scurried about at hurried paces. Jane came up to the soldier at the console next to the female Krogan's tank

"What's happening!?"

"Multiple ships are inbound!"

Jane's omni-tool beeped with an incoming video transmission. Opening the call, she saw Wrex's angered face glare at her through the interface.

'Shepard! Cerberus troops are attacking the base; get the females out of there _now_!'

"It might be safer down here, Wrex. There's only one left and she's not in the best shape to be moving."

Wrex's glare intensified.

' **What**!? No, I'm taking the shuttle ta' draw some of their fire. Either you get her out of there or you can kiss this alliance of your goodbye!'

Without another word, Wrex terminated the call. Jane growled and closed her omni-tool to turn to the soldier she had been speaking with.

"Release her; we need to leave, now."

The soldier looked frantically at Shepard.

"Standard procedure is to lock down _all_ experiments during emerg- _bbrrzzzrrgh_!"

An electric shock coursed through his body as Mordin held up his own omni-tool to the back of his head.

"Objection noted. Now, release Krogan."


	17. Survival

**Disclaimer: Most of the characters and all of the locations, technologies, concepts, etc that appear in this story are property of Bioware/EA.**

* * *

 **This is War**

" **Take them out**! Keep them _away_ from the female!"

Jane shouted to her squad as charged forward into the back of a Cerberus trooper. The base was beset by Cerberus forces within seconds of the alert status declared by security. Putting a round into the back of the soldier from her newly upgraded M-22 Eviscerator mark-five, Shepard whirled around to ignite her barriers to slam into the Centurion beside her. His shields fell and a sniper shot entered his skull from behind. Jane looked to assess the field; four troopers remained with their Centurion captain.

"Beta squad, reporting! We're getting heavy resistance from non-Salarian forces, target is being protected! Reques-"

The trooper was interrupted by a caustic biotic field latching on to his body. His blood boiled as he looked too late to see a warp blast slam into him, ripping his body to pieces. Jane ran into the nearby labs, laying another reave field down onto two more troopers while Garrus took aim. Another sniper shot rang out and removed the head of a crouching soldier who chose the wrong time to pop out of cover. The afflicted troops were lifted into the air by a singularity and promptly burst into flames as a result of the Commander's incendiary ammunition and a biotic charge.

The Centurion fell back from his position, vainly launching a smoke grenade at Shepard's squad only to see the Commander barrel through the smoke to charge into him, damaging his shields as he stumbled back. He raised his rifle to fire several times into Jane's barrier but could only watch as she grafted another reave onto him, removing the last of his shields and eating away at his body. Jane came up one more time to slam her fist into his chest, detonating her barriers in another nova blast and sending the broken portions of his body flying off of the ledge behind him.

"Hurry, Shepard! Suspect Cerberus cut power to cell elevator. Power conduit at other end of area."

Mordin stated from the monitoring station beside the female Krogan's holding cell.

"Got it, Garrus, stay here and keep an eye out."

The former C-sec officer nodded, standing in front of the holding cell's kinetic walls. Jane and Liara jogged their way to the small alcove beyond the facility walls and began scanning the power couplings on the nearby wall.

"The Special Tasks Group isn't known for security leaks. The only way Cerberus would know about the female Krogan would be to have a mole somewhere in the Salarian infrastructure. Any ideas?"

Liara glanced at Jane while bending down to work repairing the machine.

"Nothing has come up in my channels. Even so, I do not think it matters much now. Every war has its traitors."

'Shepard! More Cerberus troops!'

Garrus' voice came into her earpiece as she pushed several buttons on the holographic interface.

"Damn it, we're almost done here, can you hold them off?"

Gunfire sounded from inside the labs and over the radio.

'Rgh! Just hurry up!'

Jane removed the shotgun from her back.

"Take care of this; rejoin us immediately when you're done!"

"Aye aye!"

Liara said as she repaired the power generator. Jane rushed out back to the lab. Garrus took cover behind the elevator console as he fired into the Cerberus unit. Smoke blanketed the area as gunfire came forth from the far side of the facility lab while the enemy unit came closer to their position.

"Caution! Cerberus targeting female, must not let her die!"

"How many!?"

Garrus turned to see Shepard land a shot into a nearby enemy soldier before slamming into him with a charge. His body launched into a visible Centurion as she sent out a reave field to latch onto him. Before he could react, an overloading charge destroyed his shields as Jane put another shotgun round into his chest and putting him onto the ground, killing him as his body was eaten away by the biotic field.

"With those two dead: Four troopers, two Centurions, two guardians! We can handle it, like usual?"

"Like usual!"

Jane nodded as she launched another reave into the smoke, hearing screams and grunts of pain beyond to confirm it had landed. Garrus sighted down the thermal scope, easily piercing through the smoke to see the panicking soldiers. Activating his visor, Garrus transmitted the combat information of the targeted Centurion to Jane's hardsuit. She could see the red outline of the enemy as he rose up from cover, still affected by the reave eating through his shields.

"Target painted! Go for it, Shepard!"

Jane grinned as her biotics flared. She charged forward into the smoke to smash herself into the Centurion, destroying the last of his shields as Garrus took his head off with another shot of his Viper sniper rifle. Igniting her barriers, Jane slammed her fist into the ground to expand the blast around her, hitting two troopers and sending them over the railing of the lab to tumble to the bottom of the base below. Another sniper shot flew swiftly past Jane's back to split another trooper's skull before he could land a hit onto Shepard.

Jane looked up to see the remaining Centurion ahead of her lift his hand. A grenade was in his grasp, already flashing red and beeping quickly. She knew she wouldn't be able to move out of the way in time before the grenade exploded, unless-

'Power restored, thank you for your patience.'

The Centurion froze as he was ensnared in a biotic stasis field. The grenade exploded as a shot came into contact with it, essentially liquefying the Centurion's body. Jane looked back to see Liara take cover behind an experiment station next to her, pulling her Commander with her to avoid the guardians. Jane grinned as she leaned up to place a quick peck at the corner of Liara's cheek before she turned to charge into the first guardian as the second was pulled into a singularity behind him. Knocking his shield away, Jane put a round into his stomach and tackled into him, sending him into the singularity before detonating her barrier to launch them at lethal speeds into the walls around them.

"Glad to see affinity for destruction still intact. Now, must clear us through checkpoint."

Jane doubled back to the console next to the holding cell, punching in several commands to allow the elevator to lift further up.

"That barrier can't hold up much longer, Shepard. We need to get out of here soon."

Mordin looked up from his own panel within the monitoring station beside the cell.

"Indeed, female at risk. If she dies, genophage cure… problematic."

The Commander looked at the Krogan, still wrapped in her robes and mask.

"How are you in there? Doing okay?"

The female's eyes glanced over to Jane before looking forward again.

"You don't know me, Commander. Why would you help me and my people?"

"I'd like to know you. I know the Krogan have suffered and in times like this… well, a friend told me it's good to be generous at what might be the end."

The robed Krogan cast a longer look at the red haired Commander.

"Last checkpoint above us, Shepard. Must clear us through, then wait for holding chamber to lock into loading bay. Hope Urdnot Wrex still waiting.

"…He has to. He-"

A shuttle came up to the left of the holding cell. Several smoke grenades exploded to shroud the occupants it dropped off. The door across the area to the Normandy squad's right opened.

"Shepard! Opened path up to landing area! Meet us there!"

Mordin shouted as the elevator activated to lift up the holding cell.

"Fall back! Get to the landing area, now!"

Jane said as she unhooked the pistol from her hip to fire into the smoke. Emerging from the heavy layer of smog was a Cerberus commander, clad in white and yellow inferno armor.

"Never thought I'd see Shepard run! Omega, take them out! Capture the Krogan, dead or alive!"

Extending his arm, the Cerberus Paladin activated an omni-tool to form a large holographic shield to slam down before him, steadily advancing on the squad as his own began firing on their position. Taking several hits, Jane stumbled as her barriers were heavily drained by the Paladin. Leaping up out of cover, Liara formed her own biotic barrier to shield herself and Shepard from incoming fire as Jane recovered.

"Relying on aliens for help, how far have you fallen, Shepard?"

Jane glared at the enemy commander as she grabbed Liara, firing her pistol while falling back to the door behind them while Garrus laid covering fire down with his M-15 Vindicator assault rifle. Retreating past the door, Garrus turned to shoot off the nearby panel and rip out several wires to cause the door to shut and lock itself. The group made their way to the nearby ladder.

"We're almost back at the landing area!"

"Move it, people!"

* * *

"How's their progress?"

Major General Kane asked as she strode into the war room. Primarch Victus turned from the holographic displays before him to acknowledge her entrance.

"Well enough, considering they're under attack. They've located the female and are escorting her through the base. According to the scans Doctor T'soni uploaded to us, she's… not in the best condition."

Alexis came up next to the Primarch as he brought up a visual representation of the female Krogan's body alongside various scrolling paragraphs of information.

"Her immune system is very badly damaged. Many of her hormonal glands affected by the genophage and various questionable experiments have become obsolete, resulting in high susceptibility to cell infection in those areas."

Kane looked in disgust to the displayed experimental notes.

"This Maelon… his experiments were horrific."

"They were means to an end. That end is close at hand, even though I disagree with it."

Kasarran came to the opposite side of the large holographic interface.

"Well, I'm glad you're not in charge if you support these kinds of atrocities."

The High-Sergeant shot a glare at Kane's direction.

"If the situation was reversed and _we_ were the ones hit with the genophage, you can be _damn_ sure I would do whatever it took to cure it, morally ambiguous experiments or no. But this is the reality we're in now. I still say this is a poorly thought out decision, but there isn't much I can do to stop it, now is there?"

Alexis raised an eyebrow at the cabal warrior before shifting her attention back to the status displays of the ground team. They had just cleared a number of Cerberus soldiers at their initial landing zone and were preparing the female Krogan for transfer to the loading bay for extraction to the shuttle.

"At least you're becoming more sensible the more time you spend on this ship. Baby steps, I suppose."

Ankara rolled her eyes as she returned to her observations of the holographic battlefields of Palaven before her. Her heart clenched to see the death toll rise before her eyes. Despite her words of disparity with the current plan of action, she knew that if her people didn't get help soon, there won't be much left of Palaven to save.

All eyes in the room turned to the loud beeping noise coming from the display of the STG base. Victus squinted at the source, a spike of heat and electricity quickly descending onto the base.

"What is…?"

" _Shit_ …"

Kassaran hissed as she looked at the hologram. Alexis quickly punched in the channel for the team's radio signal.

"Commander!"

'Go ahead.'

"Atlas, inbound!"

* * *

Jane's eyes widened as they heard a loud crash at the landing pad. A large mech similar to the one they had encountered on Grissom Academy rose up and cocked its large mounted arm cannon. Shepard only had half a second to dive out of the way before a shot completely destroyed the console behind her, metal shards flying everywhere from the sudden explosion. Liara and Garrus immediately took cover as Jane unhooked the Eviscerator from her back and ducked behind an experiment station.

'Damn it, Shepard! We can't land until ya' deal with that thing!'

"Target acquired!"

The trooper inside the Atlas shouted as he turned to see his Paladin commander and the rest of Omega squad come into the area through the ladder Shepard's team previously used.

" **Prepping cryo-package**! Knight formation, now! Kill them all and take the target! If we can't get her alive then make sure she's dead!"

Mordin slammed his hands against the door of the monitoring station as the female's holding cell made its way to the ceiling.

"Door is damaged! Can't get out!"

Jane shook her head as she looked up at the Atlas and the enemy soldiers pouring into the area. They wouldn't be able to take on these kinds of forces with just the three of them-

'Aegohr team dropping off! Highest priority is to secure safety of female specimen!'

A Salarian transport shuttle came up beside the railing of the landing pad. A team of Salarian operatives rushed out of the shuttle, firing on the enemy squadron and Atlas. The Paladin grunted and lifted his holo-shield, extending its radius to allow his team to use as cover.

"Commander! Let us deal with the soldiers! Take out that mech, now!"

Major Kirrahe shouted as he began firing into the crowd of soldiers with his squad. Jane nodded as she charged toward the mech. A proximity mine detonated on the mech's front and a warp blast hit immediately after, before Jane made contact and created a large, highly damaging biotic explosion. The Atlas reeled back as Garrus fired off an overloading charge, damaging its shields before immediately taking cover to avoid another shot from the battle beside them. Both sides were losing people quickly. They needed to finish this as soon as possible.

Kirrahe activated his cloak to maneuver across the field. The enemy Paladin retracted his shield to rush into the fray, firing his Piranha shotgun into a Salarian soldier. The Salarian Major came up behind the enemy commander, ready to put his omni-blade into his back before the Paladin whirled around to fire wildly. Kirrahe quickly brought a leg up to kick the gun out of his hand before swinging again at the Paladin. Ducking the weapon, he couldn't block the next lightning fast strike against his helmet or the swift kick to his torso, sending him back several feet and allowing the elite Salarian soldier to draw his Scorpion heavy pistol. Seeing the weapon, the Paladin brought his shield up again before the specialized explosive slugs made contact with his body, hitting his shield instead. Punching several commands into his omni-tool, the shield burst in a flash, sending the rounds back at the Major to detonate around him, sending him to the ground as he activated his cloak to slip away.

The enemy Paladin looked to the Atlas several feet away. Shepard was tearing the thing apart with little effort. They couldn't afford for this operation to fail.

"Focus fire on the target! Shepard's mine!"

The Atlas turned its arm cannon upward to begin firing into the kinetic walls of the holding cell overhead. The Paladin picked up his weapon and fired several rounds into Jane's barriers, gaining her attention. The Commander angrily charged the Paladin, but couldn't make contact as he brought up his shield, knocking Jane back and out of her charge. Before she could react, two white omni-tools formed on his arms and a blast of ice shot out into her, slowing her movements. A concussive round struck his right side, forcing him to stumble before he could get a shot into the red-head.

"Shepard! Female is vulnerable, barriers on cell failing!"

"A little busy here, Mordin!"

Jane shouted as she fired her own shotgun into the Paladin's shield. The holo-shield held firm as he drained her barriers again but couldn't land another shot before another protective biotic field shielded her provided by Liara.

"Garrus! Get that things attention _away_ from the Krogan!"

"Affirmative!"

Jane charged forward again, seeing another warp blast land on the holo-shield as she smashed herself into it. The shield broke as the powerful explosion detonated, knocking the Paladin back as she fired into his shields, powered up by the energy drained from her own barriers. Shepard smashed the butt of her weapon into the Paladin's helmet before igniting her barriers and sending him to the ground with a nova blast. Jane advanced on the enemy commander, kicking his Piranha away as he recovered raising her Eviscerator for the killing blow.

" **Cryo-shield ready**! Let's see what you've got, Shepard!"

The enemy Paladin raised his arm to form a white holo-shield, swinging it at Shepard and knocking her shotgun out of her hand as she jumped backward. Looking down, her hand was covered in a layer of frost and her Eviscerator was completely frozen on the ground. She looked back at the Cerberus commander as he made his way to her. She couldn't take a direct hit from that shield.

The Paladin swung in a wide arc, narrowly missing Jane's head as she stepped to the side. Liara watched as Shepard struck the enemy commander's side before he activated an omni-blade on his other hand, swinging again at Shepard while she stepped backwards again. The Cerberus commander stepped forward, bearing the shield on Jane before she was ready to move and would have made contact if it weren't for Liara launching a biotic throw at the holo-shield, knocking it away to allow Jane to step in. Liara quickly calculated the speed, force and trajectory of Shepard's punches, watching the momentum of her movements. The Shadow Broker reached out biotically to adjust her lover's form and movement, strengthening the force behind her strikes, adjusting the angles of her arms and manipulating the momentum of her body to allow for the most damaging impacts possible.

Jane struck the Paladin's chest several times before bringing a knee upwards into his stomach, forcing him to bend down before taking his head in her hand and bringing her knee upward again into the faceplate of his helmet. She moved to punch again but found the cryo-shield swinging in the direction of her arm mid-swing. Liara caught the movement and biotically pulled Jane's arm to the side, forcing her body to twist itself to narrowly avoid the shield. Jane used the momentum of her spin to lift a leg up and smash her shin into the Paladin's back, forcing him to the ground again, face first.

"Shepard! Could use some help over here!"

The Commander turned to see Garrus pinned down by the mech near the landing pad. The Atlas fired a missile at his position, forcing him out of cover and directly into the path of its cannon. Without proper protection, the mounted arm cannon would rip through his shields and put a hole into his body. Just before it could fire off a shot, another Salarian came up to block Garrus' prone form.

"Wiks!"

Padok Wiks closed his eyes as the shot tore through his shields, though he still stood. After a moment of confusion from the Atlas pilot, the image of the Salarian captain before him shimmered and disappeared. A shielded holographic decoy. The real Wiks quickly rounded the Atlas to climb up its back. At the top, he activated his omni-tool to send an electric charge through the mech's systems, severely damaging the thing's shields as Garrus recovered and launched another proximity mine at the mech. The Atlas swung around wildly, launching Padok off of its back and into a nearby wall. The mech took aim at the female Krogan's cell again.

"Barrier cannot last! One more hit before containment walls fail and female left unprotected!"

Mordin shouted from his monitoring station. The Atlas cocked the arm cannon again, ready to fire. Major Kirrahe appeared behind the mech, firing several explosive rounds into the heat expulsion port at the back, destroying the metal covering and firing more slugs into the interior of the Atlas. Several explosions were heard inside the pilot's seat as the window was painted red. The mech toppled over to the ground with a loud, metallic _thud_.

The Paladin growled lowly as he rose up from the ground.

"God damn it!"

He shouted as he attempted to swing at Jane again with his shield. Another biotic barrier blocked his strike as Jane turned to grin at the scene behind the Cerberus commander. His forces were crumbling as the STG operatives swarmed into the base. Shepard ignited her barriers at the same time that Liara detonated the protective field. Their combined force took down the Paladin's shields as Jane latched a reave field onto him. Before he could react, another warp field shot into him. The resulting explosion sent his body into the air, where for the last few moments of his life, the enemy Paladin saw the glinting barrel of a Viper sniper rifle. In the space of less than a second, a sniper shot embedded itself into his skull mid-air as his body landed onto the floor.

With the last of the Cerberus forces either killed or captured, the Kodiak shuttle came around to the landing pad while Mordin finally opened the door to the monitoring station.

Major Kirrahe's thin frame came up to Jane with a tired smile on his face.

"Commander! Good to see you're still in top form."

Jane shook his hand and returned the smile.

"Kirrahe, I'm impressed. Those were some good moves you pulled back there."

"Oh, my skills are nothing compared to yours. I regret not seeing them in action on Virmire, but I think this more than makes up for it."

A soft groan came from the side and they turned to view Padok Wiks slowly getting up from where he had been thrown. Kirrahe rushed over to help him up.

"Wiks, you alright?"

Padok nodded his head, trying to stop the rampant spinning sensation he felt immediately afterwards.

"Major, Sir, I have something I'd like to discuss with you."

Kirrahe nodded and moved to sit the captain down on a nearby station.

Wrex's large form exited the shuttle on the landing pad, holding his Claymore. Jane approached to shake his hand firmly before they turned to the loading area just as the female's holding cell locked into position.

"Hmm, didn't think it'd take ya' that long ta' deal with that toy. Maybe you're getting rusty, hehe."

Jane grinned as they approached the cell.

"Maybe you're just getting too old to keep up with all the action."

"Hah! In yer dreams! We'd be outta here in less time that it takes a varren ta' shit in the woods if I'da been down here!"

The kinetic barriers of the holding cell flickered off as Mordin came up to extend a hand to the female. Wrex grunted and pushed him aside, extending his own hand.

"Let's get you outta there."

The female huffed and stepped down from the cell, pushing his hand aside. A lone trooper climbed over the nearby railing to point his pistol at her, only to receive a powerful shotgun blast to his armored chest as she swiftly took the Claymore from Wrex. She stepped over to place her foot onto the soldier's chest, painting the ground with his head after she reloaded the massive weapon. Walking back over to Wrex, she shoved the gun back into his arms.

"I can handle myself."

Wrex chuckled deeply as he watched her make her way to the shuttle.

* * *

 **So, I somehow managed to get through half of this chapter writing Shepard as a strange amalgamation of infiltrator, engineer and adept before I remembered she's a vanguard. That's what happens when you stay up until four a.m. playing the multiplayer and decide it's a good idea to keep writing afterwards. Though it has given me some ideas about her and her team's powers in the future.**


	18. Aboard

**Disclaimer: Most of the characters and all of the locations, technologies, concepts, etc that appear in this story are property of Bioware/EA.**

* * *

 **This is War**

"We can do this, Shepard. _You_ can do this. Never forget that."

'No, sir.'

Jane's holographic form saluted before her Admiral as he saluted back.

"Good, Hackett out."

The Commander's image faded away into nothing as Steven turned to look out of the window of the SSV Olympus. The newly named 'Crucible' project was being assembled before his eyes. Never had Humanity deigned build something so massive in both size and scope, not since the construction of Gagarin Station so many years back. They would need any help they could get as soon as they could get it.

* * *

Jane stepped over to the large holographic interface. It projected an image of the Prothean device under construction. This Project Crucible had to be their ticket to winning this war. Without it, it was only a matter of time before the Reapers wear down the galaxy's fleets until nothing remained to stop them. Shepard turned to leave the war room with a determined expression on her face. Right now, they simply had to focus on this cure.

"The female is alive and safe! Your cure will take time to be completed but time is not something my people can afford right now!"

"I remember agreeing to this only when the Krogan get a cure! Without it, this alliance doesn't exist."

Jane's face turned to a scowl as she entered the meeting room again. Mordin crossed his arms as he paced around the room while Wrex and Victus glared at each other. Ankara and Kane sat off to the side.

"I knew the Krogan would go back on their word. The only people we can trust are ourselves after all."

Kassaran hissed as she looked at Wrex's back.

"But the Primarch right. Just having the female aboard doesn't mean a cure is readily available. It may as well be guaranteed, if Doctor Solus knows what he's doing but time isn't something we have."

The Major General said. Jane looked to Mordin, silently thinking to himself as he stared down at the meeting table.

"How long would it take to make the cure viable, Mordin?"

The Salarian scientist rubbed his chin with thin fingers as he turned to Shepard.

"Need to synthesize base mutagen structures from female organ tissue, then reconstruct linking vectors to spread to other cells while retaining original cure strain. Will need male tissue sample as well-"

"Yer lookin' at it."

Wrex's voice rumbled from the other side of the room.

"Ah, excellent. Can begin immediately."

"I'd imagine making the cure able to affect every Krogan alive now would be incredibly difficult."

Mordin smiled at the Major General's question.

"Maelon's data useful in cure reconstruction. Much better than starting from scratch. Similar to genophage modification project. Working against _own_ modifications instead of blocking evolved garbage DNA sites. Much bigger challenge. Must adjust transmitter levels while keeping hormonal levels steady for sake of patient organ health."

Kane frowned at the sound of Maelon's name.

"I saw reports on the experiments this Maelon conducted on Krogan females. Do you think it's right to use his data even though the methods used to obtain it are unethical?"

Mordin shook his horned head.

"Moral stance on data irrelevant now. At time, Maelon's work horrible, monstrous. Would have killed him, if not for… intervention."

Jane smiled as she looked at the Salarian.

"But now, data has purpose. Subjects did not die for nothing. Will complete cure. Fix mistakes, crimes against Krogan race and culture. No need to worry."

Shepard laid a hand on Mordin's shoulder.

"I know you can do it, Mordin. Just make it quick, we don't have a lot of time."

The ex-STG nodded as he turned to begin his way out of the meeting room.

"Will be down in medbay with Wiks and Eve. Can speak more there if interested."

"Eve?"

Mordin shifted his eyes back to the room.

"Full name unknown. Normandy Human vessel. Human mythology appropriate for situation. Suggest speaking with her when time allows. Fresh perspective on Krogan. Surprising."

Mordin finished as he walked out to the adjacent scanning room. Ankara looked after him.

"At least he's convicted to the cause."

Kane glanced over at the High-Sergeant's face.

"What was the Turian saying? Victory at any cost?"

The cabal warrior turned to silently regard Alexis for a few long moments. Jane looked back to Wrex and Victus.

"Now, is there anything else?"

The Primarch looked to the side, an uncomfortable expression on his face.

"There is a… small matter concerning a ship we've lost contact with. It's… not something I'd like to discuss openly."

Wrex gruffly snorted as he crossed his arms, level Jane with a stare.

"One ship is nothing compared to what I have. A few of my men went missing. We can get into details … in private."

Wrex glared at the Turian Primarch. Shepard shook her head as the frown on her face deepened.

"I'll find you both in the war room. Just be ready to talk…"

* * *

"What? He kicked you out?"

Doctor Chakwas looked up from her tea.

"Oh goodness, no! After treating Captain Wiks's head trauma, I just felt I was getting in his way. I will return when I'm needed."

Jane nodded as she turned toward the medbay from the seated doctor in the mess hall. The metal door of the medbay slid open to reveal Padok Wiks, just before she almost bumped into him.

"Oh my! My apologies, Commander."

Jane smiled at the STG operative.

"No harm done. How's the head?"

Wiks reached up to scratch at the bandage adorning the back of his thin head.

"A small bump on the head won't keep me down for long. I may be a scientist, but I'm a soldier, first and foremost. I cannot express how grateful I am that you've allowed me to come aboard."

Jane nodded her head, looking away at the mess hall.

"In times like this, we can't afford to turn help away. Happy to have you along, Captain Wiks."

Shepard extended her hand with a smile. The Salarian captain returned the smile and took her hand, shaking it several times.

"Happy to be here. And since we will be working together, you may call me Padok, if you please."

"Alright then. Speaking of work, how's she doing?"

Jane gestured to the female Krogan, sitting on the medical table within the medbay.

"Well. I can't stress enough how large a part of her current health is due to Professor Solus' hard work. They were on the verge of death when we found them on Tuchanka, and we would have lost all of them if it wasn't for his expertise and experience in utilizing the data you saved from your mission those months back."

Wiks turned his gaze to Mordin, who was currently looking through a microscope on the other end of the medbay.

"You sound like you admire him."

Padok smiled as he turned again to Shepard.

"I do. I've worked with him on several occasions when he was still with the STG. His many dissertations on xenobiology were a major part of what inspired me to pursue my own career in the Special Tasks Group. He has a brilliant mind, even among the STG, and he isn't afraid to stand up for what he believes in."

"He's certainly proven that plenty of times."

"Indeed. I once punched him in the face over what he believed in."

"Exchange moot now! Though, still right about evolution. _Only_ natural way forward is random genetic mutation on biological scale. Artificial manipulation otherwise."

Mordin called from his station within the medbay.

"You got into a fist fight with him over evolution?"

The Salarian captain nodded.

"Our views differ slightly on the subject. Years back we argued about it, we drank, then argued about it some more. After hours of rebukes, and rebuttals mixed with perhaps too much alcohol, I'd decided a good _fracas_ seemed the best way to settle things."

Jane chuckled as she looked between Mordin and Wiks.

"So who won?"

The Salarian scientist turned slightly from his microscope.

"No winner. Black eye and broken fingers resulted in draw."

"We went back to drinking soon afterward."

Shepard shook her head slightly.

"So you two are friends?"

Padok smiled.

"At times, yes. Other times we hardly spoke. The work we were doing with the genophage generated much stress and tension. I had worked in the labs at our remote operating base, theorizing. Mordin… went directly to Tuchanka."

"Had to see work. _Needed_ to see effects for myself."

Mordin quietly muttered as he fiddled with a data pad beside him.

"He's never been the same after that. I can now understand his views on the matter after picking up the Krogan females."

"I'm glad you see the need for some kind of intervention. If you'll excuse me, I have some things I'd like to discuss with Mordin and Eve."

Wiks nodded and moved aside.

"Of course, Commander. I look forward to working with you and your team."

Jane smiled as she walked past, sparing him one last glance.

"Likewise, Padok."

The door to the medbay closed behind him as the Salarian made his way to the inner table of the mess hall. Karin looked up to see her previous patient approaching.

"Captain Wiks, I must remind you to _not_ scratch at the pad or it'll tear and I will need to lay on a new one."

Padok smiled sheepishly as he sat down next to the Alliance Doctor.

"Apologies, I can't help it. I must say, I'm impressed with how knowledgeable you are about Salarian physiology."

Doctor Chakwas quietly laughed as she sipped the steaming tea before her.

"It comes with being on this ship for several months."

"Doctor Chakwas is one of the best medical personnel in the Alliance. We're lucky to have her."

Liara T'soni called out as she came up to the dining table from her office, holding a cup of coffee in one hand and a data pad in another.

"Liara how is your leg? Are you feeling any more muscle spasms?"

The former archaeologist smiled as she sat on the opposite side of the table from the duo.

"No, it has healed quite nicely. Major General Kane was very proficient at applying dressings and disinfectant."

"Oh! You're Doctor T'soni? I apologize, I hadn't realized it was you on-base. Your works on Prothean cultures and biology partly motivated my interest in joining the STG."

Liara smiled at the Salarian captain, quietly taking a swig of coffee.

"I've been hearing that at an increasingly frequent rate. I'm flattered. I hear you will be working with us in the coming days."

Padok nodded.

"Yes. I will be assisting Doctor Solus whenever he has use of me, and my skills in combat are at the ready when they are needed."

"You support a cure for the genophage just as Mordin does?"

Wiks nodded his bandaged head again and turned his gaze toward the medbay, looking through the window to the newly named Eve sitting on the medial table.

"Absolutely! My sentiments differ from the majority of the Salarian social body. We were completely in the wrong to uplift their kind to use as a glorified battering ram against the Rachni. Even more so when we developed and deployed the genophage. Just because we have the tools to alter evolution does not give us the right to play as the Originator."

Karin turned from her tea to glance at Padok.

"I've never seen a religious Salarian before. And even fewer scientists who share that opinion."

"The scientific community must always be inclusive. We will get nowhere if we don't allow all manner of opinions and viewpoints to enter the conversation. It is part of the reason I left Thessia in pursuit of my own research. Many of my colleagues simply dismissed my thoughts on the Protheans, and many more disregarded my theories on their demise."

Wiks turned back to Liara.

"And now those theories are staring us in the face, ready to end us in the blink of an eye."

"Not if I have anything ta' say about it!"

The trio turned to look at Wrex's large form walking through the medbay doors. The Salarian captain smiled, dark eyes trained on the large Krogan's conversation with Eve, Mordin and Shepard within the medbay.

"I do hope we live through this war. I've always wanted to see proper Krogan mating rituals."

* * *

Hard grunting and panting entered communication Specialist Samantha Traynor's ears as she exited the central elevator and entered the armory. EDI was currently upgrading various systems in the Normandy, one of which being the intercom system. With the intercom temporarily down, Traynor had decided to inform major team members of upcoming events until it was properly upgraded and restored to full functionality. According to EDI, Lieutenant James Vega was currently in the shuttle bay. She had expected the muscle-bound jarhead to be checking weapons and armors, possibly using the requisitions terminal for enhancements.

She hadn't expected to be aurally assaulted by the sounds of strenuous activity from the far side of the shuttle bay.

"Excuse me! Where can I find Lieutenant Vega?"

Lieutenant Cortez looked away from his terminal to regard the Specialist. His bearded face smirked as he saw her growing embarrassment spread across her face, no doubt from the sounds echoing above the low hum of the Normandy's drive core.

"Oh, he's over near his usual haunt, working off a bit of stress with General Kane."

From the sounds she heard, she didn't want to know what kind of method they were using to de-stress. An unfamiliar twinge of emotion sparked through her as she heard Alexis' name.

"Well tell the Lieutenant that he's to be on the next mis-"

"Oh sorry, I'll need to work on the shuttle a bit, y'know, before the next mission. It's only a short walk; go ahead!"

Cortez interrupted with a grin as he quickly grabbed a bag of tools and exited the armory, walking over to the Kodiak. Samantha attempted to stutter out a response but the procurement officer had already left. With a sigh of resignation, Traynor began her way through the shuttle bay. The harsh groans and grunts began increasing in volume as she neared their source.

This would be simple. Just go over, announce what had to be announced, then leave. Quick, clean, surgical and _simple_. No need to get flustered. Fraternization between crewmates was never an overly large issue within the Alliance, so long as it didn't adversely interfere with performance. She shouldn't be worried about what she imagined was going on within Lieutenant Vega's bunk area. Not at all. Nope.

"Fucking _hell_ , Vega! When did you get so good at this?"

"Comes with experience, Reina. Just let these magic fingers do all the work."

Well, _shit_. Traynor's face burned with discomfiture as she laid her back against the storage crate next to James' barracks. She could feel her breath becoming alarmingly short and the Specialist reached for her inhaler within her fatigue pocket. Bringing the small device up and taking a quick breath, Samantha tried to muster up the courage to make her presence known. The only thing that came out of her mouth was a pathetic squeak of a voice.

"E-… excuse me, Li-"

"Mmmh! Lower, right there!"

She didn't know what to do or think at the prospect of Alexis being involved in this kind of activity. A surge of unhappiness welled up within her breast as she listened to the exaggerated, almost pained feminine whines that were no doubt made by the Major General. Perhaps she should simply send an e-mail to Vega's omni-tool and then sit in the bottom of the engineering deck to curl up into a ball and will herself into non-existence.

"Oh, goodness! Hah, that's enough of that; I think I might just melt into a puddle."

"Heh, don't get too relaxed now. Another round at the bag?"

"Hell _yes_. Keep that thing steady this time."

…Bag? Samantha finally turned the corner to see a scene no less unexpected yet more acceptable to her state of consciousness. The Lieutenant was behind a large gray punching bag, holding it in place as Kane laid fist after fist into its surface. For what felt like the longest several seconds, Traynor forgot exactly what she came down here to do. Her focus was entirely on Alexis' form, covered in a light sheen of sweat.

To say the Major General was in top shape was an understatement. The muscles in her back visibly rippled and flexed themselves as she punched at the sack before her. The black sports bra hugged her upper body tightly as she twisted and turned herself to land hay-makers and backhands as James struggled to keep the punching bag in place. Sweat dripped off of Kane's fit body as she whipped herself around, kicking the bag and forcing the Lieutenant to the side, allowing him to finally notice the frozen Specialist.

"Hey, Switch! Come ta' join us?"

Alexis immediately stopped her assault as she turned to look at Samantha. As absurd as the idea was, the Specialist found her thought process even _more_ stalled as she gazed upon her superior's front. Kane was panting slightly, the hard muscles in her abdomen expanding and contracting with every breath. Her arms were gleaming with the light sweat she had worked up, making the separations of muscle tissue even more distinct yet they somehow still held that thin femininity that made them look almost delicate. Exposed collar bones led down to concealed breasts that heaved with each shallow breath. Samantha couldn't quite tell their size because of the restrictive sports bra. A surge of warmth welled up in Traynor's stomach. She had seen the bodies of the many women she had dated while studying at Oxford and serving in the Alliance, but _none_ could compare to what was on display before her. The Major General's body was the definition of chiseled athleticism.

Sam couldn't help but latch her chocolate brown eyes onto one particular bead of sweat as it rolled down the middle of the muscular split on her stomach, making its way down to the waistband of the dark blue sweats she wore. The Specialist swallowed the lump in her throat as she watched those lean hips cock themselves to the side as a gloved hand rested itself onto one.

"Traynor."

Sam's eyes snapped to Alexis'. The Major General's pink lips pulled into a smirk as she stared down at Traynor. Alexis was aware of her physical form. She worked hard to keep herself at peak physical condition. She knew she was attractive for her age, with pronounced cheekbones, full lips and virtually no creases marring her clear, cream colored complexion. Being completely honest with herself, she silently reveled in her youthful appearance often, and she would be lying if she said she didn't feel the smallest bit of flattery run through her chest at the thought of being so obviously checked out.

"Um, I- uh, well- I just- I-"

The ruffled Specialist briefly forgot how to form words properly as she observed Kane's other hand come up to weave itself into shining gray-blonde hair. Samantha had only just realized the luscious mane of almost silvery hair was tied into a pony tail, loose bangs falling to the sides of the Major General's face.

"You okay there, Switch?"

Sam shook herself as she tore her gaze from Alexis' to look to James.

"I-I came down here to inform you to prepare for the next mission. Our destination is the Ninmah Cluster to investigate sightings of strange creatures encountered by a Krogan scout team on Utukku. ETA is one and a haaa-"

Her attention was briefly stolen by the sight of a feminine hand rub itself into the side of Kane's neck.

"h-half hours!"

James grinned as he let go of the punching bag.

"Finally! Some real action! 'Bout damn time."

"I'll catch you later, Lieutenant. Thanks for the work out."

James waved off the Major General as he stepped over to his work station, picking up various weapon parts and laying them out on the table.

"No problem, Reina. Any time."

Kane looked back over to Sam as she retrieved a small towel from the nearby weight bench.

"C'mon then, Specialist. I'd imagine you need to get back to your duties, and I need a shower."

Alexis said as she walked past Traynor's still partially stunned form, wiping the towel along the back of her neck. The scent of sweat and vanilla wafted off of Kane's glistening form as she made her way to the elevator and Sam felt herself on the verge of fainting. Half way there, she stopped to look back at the comm Specialist with an amused grin.

"Traynor? Do I need to call the doctor down here?"

Sam shook herself again as she rushed to join her superior, walking side by side to the elevator. Kane lifted her arm to rotate her shoulder and neck, giving the Specialist a small view of a smooth, slick underarm and a partial breast.

"Mmmh. That man knows how to give _the best_ massages. You should try it some time. Goodness knows he should be paid for it."

Samantha tore her eyes away just in time to avoid sky-blue eyes turn in her direction in a side glance. She briefly wondered what it was like to feel that smooth skin beneath her fingers and she inexplicably found herself envious of Lieutenant Vega for receiving that privilege.

"Maybe some other time…"

Kane had to admit, while this woman was good at hiding her pain, she was terribly inefficient at hiding bitterness. She chuckled to herself as they stepped onto the elevator, punching in the commands for the crew deck and then the command information center.

"Well, suit yourself."

The ride up to deck three was spent in silence, save for quiet breathing. Traynor felt her sudden anger ease itself away with every breath she took. Even in the cool air of the elevator, she could feel the gentle heat radiating off of Alexis. The specialist chanced a glance at Kane and silently took in the Major General's profile. This woman looked like she was barely out of her mid-twenties, a testament to modern Human age expectancy and the active lifestyle of a Systems Alliance marine. Another thought occurred to Samantha once she regained her wits.

"Excuse me for asking, but do you... happen to have anyone special?"

Kane turned to glance at the comm Specialist.

"Special as in...?"

"A-as in... romantically. I mean, being completely honest..."

Traynor looked up and down Alexis' body quickly (trying not to have her gaze catch on that _wonderfully_ muscled abdomen).

"You look _amazing_ for someone who hadn't participated in active combat for a while until just recently."

Alexis chuckled lightly as she wiped the towel across her jaw.

"And I can't simply keep in shape for myself? It has to be for either combat or to get some young buck looking for a shag?"

Sam's face and neck colored themselves in embarrassment as she turned away to look frantically at the wall before her as she once again tripped over her words.

"N-no, Ma'am! I wasn't insinuating that it couldn't be for your own benefit! I-I was only wondering if you- well, that is to say- um-"

The low chuckle turned into a full laugh as the metal door of the elevator slid open, revealing the memorial wall in the hallway of the crew deck.

"You're _much_ too adorable for your own good, Traynor. And to answer your question, I _do_ have someone special to me..."

Samantha turned her gaze downward to the floor as Kane stepped out into the hall.

"... but another kind of special."

Alexis turned to look at Traynor as her eyes lifted themselves. Chocolate brown met sky blue for several moments.

"However, I do _not_ have someone special in the sense that you intended."

The Major General smirked as she observed Sam's eyes widen.

"And I'm not opposed to having someone fill that role..."

Samantha felt her face burn at the low tone of voice her superior used. Kane's smirk widened as she stepped away from the elevator to head toward the port observation lounge. Sam was left alone in the elevator as the door silently slid closed to proceed to the C.I.C. Perhaps she should still head to the engineering deck to curl up into a ball and will herself into non-existence just to get this _god awful_ blush off of her cheeks. But even as she stepped out into the C.I.C. to take her place at her post, a small smile adorned her lips.


	19. Aralakh

**Disclaimer: Most of the characters and all of the locations, technologies, concepts, etc that appear in this story are property of Bioware/EA.**

* * *

 **This is War**

" _What_? You _met_ a Rachni queen and just let it go?"

James said incredulously as he sat in the Kodiak shuttle. They had been deployed to Utukku in the Mulla Xul system to reconnoiter the disappearance of a Krogan scouting party and the sighting of what was thought to be the long extinct race of Rachni. Captain Wiks beamed a smile as he checked over his M-17 Raptor sniper rifle.

"I read reports on what happened at the peak-15 research complex on Noveria. I _knew_ the Rachni weren't all gone. It was truly a shame to be forced to put down so many."

James turned to the Salarian captain, jaw slightly agape.

"Those things practically did what the Reapers are doing now!"

"We have no real records of what even began the Rachni Wars. They attacked, we retaliated."

Jane held the overhead handle to steady herself.

"Then you got the Krogan involved, and everything spiraled out of control from there to where we are now."

Padok shook his head, leveling a gaze at Shepard.

"All life is precious. We may want to retrieve several samples, could be useful for re-engineering their race. They didn't deserve to be wiped out completely."

"While I agree with your opinion, these Rachni may be responsible for the disappearance of the Krogan scouts. I'm not saying they won't be hostile but we should be prepared for anything."

Wiks nodded, storing his rifle on his back.

"Of course, Commander. The mission always comes first."

James shook his head side to side as he looked down to the floor of the shuttle.

"Esto es jodidamente loco…"

"Commander! We've arrived."

Steve Cortez announced from the pilot seat of the Kodiak.

"Alright, we'll be meeting up with a platoon of Krogan soldiers sent to investigate the missing scouts. They're the ones who transmitted the distress signal."

"Anything we should know about this platoon, Lola?"

"They're apparently an elite force, some of the best commandos among the Krogan; they'll be providing fire support in case we encounter hostiles."

James unlatched his Scimitar shotgun as he stood from his seat.

"I've fought with a Krogan before. They're like walking cover. Glad ta' have some back up for once."

"Try not to arm-wrestle any of 'em, Vega. You know what happened last time!"

Cortez shouted from his seat in the shuttle's cockpit.

"It was only a little fracture, pendejo! Besides, the guy cheated anyway, if he'd only used one hand _I_ would'a won!"

Jane smirked and shook her head, turning toward the door of the shuttle.

"Alright, let's at least pretend we're professionals here. Prepare to move."

The door to the shuttle opened to reveal the rocky valley they had received the distress signal from. Several to-go set up buildings and communication posts were before them as they exited the shuttle, along with a group of heavily armored Krogan.

"Yeah, their shuttle just arrived. Hopefully this'll go quick, I'm starving."

The familiar deep voice caught Jane's ear as she saw a stocky form clad in gray armor shove his way past the other Krogan. Pale blue eyes locked with emerald green and a loud burst of laughter resounded through the air.

"Hah! Shepard!?"

The tank-bred Krogan ran up to Jane, taking her arms and looking her up and down in excitement.

"Shepard! Hahah! If I knew they'da sent you, I would've set up dinner and a show!"

Jane smiled widely as she placed her own hands on his shoulder plates.

"Grunt, what're you doing here? I thought you'd be back on Tuchanka."

Grunt huffed loudly and grinned as he looked back at the black armored Korgan behind him.

"I've been assigned to keep this band of misfits in shape. Aralakh Company, named after the fierce Tuchanka sun. The best the Krogan have to offer! Handpicked by Wrex from every clan, an example of unified Krogan. They're tough, resourceful, reckless, and stubborn. Wouldn't want 'em any other way."

Jane looked amusedly at her former Krogan squad mate.

"How'd you go from newly proven to running your own platoon?"

Grunt smiled again and turned back to Shepard.

"Wrex wanted to put someone who would represent the future of our species in charge; he said I was the obvious choice. Thanks to you, I'm part of clan Urdnot, and an equal to all other Krogan."

"And these troops trust you to run their operations?"

The Krogan soldier nodded his large head.

"Absolutely. Same way you got your crew to believe in you. You _show_ you get things done, and sooner or later people start trusting you, grown from the tank or otherwise. I stumbled and fell, but I learned from my wounds. These Krogan respect me."

The Commander nodded as she stepped over to see Aralakh Company.

"Good. Considering what we're facing, we need the best of the best."

Padok came up to look at the platoon himself, a smile on his thin face.

"I'm glad to see the clan leader's plan for a united Krogan people is coming to fruition. The Krogan have lived disparate from each other for too long."

Grunt turned to look at the Salarian captain.

"Hmmph! A Salarian who knows our plight? You know how ta' pick 'em, Shepard."

"Indeed. We're here because of your scout team going dark. You reported seeing Rachni on this planet?"

Grunt bellowed another breath as he turned to the open ravine to their side, looking up at the sun above.

"Yes! The Rachni… A chance to face the old enemy? How can I resist? We lost contact with the scouts deployed here. When we arrived, their camp was a ghost town. If it really is the Rachni, my blood demands they _die_!"

Grunt turned back to look at Shepard's squad again.

"We received reports of activity in the area near the relay, which is why the scouts were here. If they're going to try something, then they need to be put down before anything else."

James nodded his head in agreement.

"If they've been breeding an army here, there isn't a whole lot that would stop them aside from the Reapers themselves."

"Agreed. If they turn out to be hostile, neutralize them, no questions. You ready for this, Grunt?"

The tank-bred unlatched his custom made Claymore heavy shotgun and nodded his large head.

"I was _made_ ready. Aralakh Company, move out!"

* * *

"Am aware of previous injuries, no need to worry. Outer abdominal shell fractures healing nicely. Fit for combat duty, in fact."

Mordin said quickly as he readjusted the medical pads on Ankara's midsection. The cabal warrior grunted as she lowered the upper portion of her under suit and began to replace her silver armor. She took a side long look at Eve on the table beside her.

"Doctor Solus, what is your opinion on curing the genophage?"

Mordin looked up in surprise briefly before turning his horned head down again to look at the data pad in his thin fingers.

"Opinion irrelevant. Without unified Krogan and Turian forces, Reapers left unchallenged. Disastrous for everyone. Cure necessary to ensure survival."

"Enough with the 'greater good' act. I want _your_ take on it, as the scientist who had essentially _improved_ the genophage to stop the Krogan from evolving past it."

The ex-STG scientist looked past his data pad to the floor below. Opinions were incongruous beasts that led to the _development_ of the genophage. Thousands upon thousands of variables piled on top of each other, _mountains_ of data from simulations, the only reasonable outcome was _more_ war. He rationalized his guilt long ago. He was done living in the past, like Maelon. But seeing Tuchanka for himself, seeing what the Krogan had to do to survive, seeing the experiments Maelon conducted and having the _living proof_ of just how desperate the Krogan are for change sitting in this very medbay was enough to change his opinion. _Something_ needed to be done.

"Genophage was _war crime_. In retrospect, necessary restriction on Krogan population to ensure end to Krogan Rebellions. Now… unforgivable mistake, keeping Krogan in isolated barbarian state for unfounded fears. Negligent, irresponsible. Wiks correct in usual argument, access to tool does not necessitate _use_ of tool."

"Yet, it was used anyway. For a _reason_."

Mordin looked back up to Kassaran, a firm frown on his face.

"Reason _irrelevant_ now. Saw work Urdnot Wrex conducted with clans. True united Krogan solution. Glad to see it. Wrex eager for peaceful cooperation with other species, despite normal disposition and temperament."

"He's an _idiot_. But he's the smartest idiot the Krogan have had in centuries. We _need_ him if we want our clans to settle themselves, to find our place in the galaxy."

Eve said from where she sat, wrapped in a thick blanket.

"You're sure he's earnest in his intentions? I've read the histories of the Krogan; males are always depicted as savage, ruthless and inflexible. What makes this Wrex any different than his brothers?"

The robed female took a glance at Ankara.

"There isn't a more trustworthy Krogan on Tuchanka. I know him, and I know that _he_ knows that the only future waiting for the Krogan if we continue on our current path is a barren world filled with nothing but bones and death. We can turn away from that path and make a difference, a _real_ difference after this war."

Her voice erupted in a sudden bout of coughs and wheezes. Mordin quickly crossed the room, a syringe in his hand as he carefully stabbed it into Eve's wrist.

"Minor flare up, will subside. Injected solution to help counteract vulnerability in hormone glands to promote healthy tissue build up. Must check mucous membrane muscles for abnormalities, lift head, please."

Eve did so as her coughing abated. Mordin brought his hands up to her face to lower the cloth mask she wore and placed his fingertips at the sides of her wide neck, gently rubbing the fleshy skin there to ease the muscles and feel for any irregularities in her throat.

"I've never seen a Krogan allow a Salarian so close before."

Eve's eyes shifted to the High-Sergeant before looking forward again.

"Without Mordin, I would still be in their base on Sur'Kesh. Dead, along with the rest of my sisters. It was he and Padok Wiks who fought against their colleagues to keep me alive. The rest _wanted_ me dead. Said I was a threat to galactic security."

Ankara laughed sharply as she pulled her gauntlets onto her forearms.

"As if the Reapers aren't filling that role as we speak."

"Commander Shepard at forefront of formation of retaliatory force. Skills still sharp. Best candidate for coalescing difficult allies. Reapers _will_ be challenged."

Mordin removed his hands to place the cloth mask back to its original position and activated his omni-tool to run a standby scan of Eve before returning to his station at the opposite wall. Kassaran adjusted the upper portion of her armor, locking it into place as she hoisted herself up from the medical table.

"Well, since we're putting so much stock into this Human, let's hope she can make it out of that death trap of a planet. If the Rachni truly survived, we'll need more than allies if they come into power. Especially during this war."

"Indeed. Rachni presence worrisome, regret what happened to them at end of Rachni Wars but again, necessary for survival."

Ankara looked over to Eve again.

"So… who were you, exactly, before all of this?"

The Krogan huffed lightly as she looked to the ceiling.

"I am a Shaman of my people."

"Really. Considering how Krogan females are treated, I'm surprised being a Shaman is an option to you."

Eve returned her gaze to Kassaran.

"We are treated the way we are because we have to be. The alternative is _extinction_. Pain begets wisdom. Loss creates understanding. The genophage has made us very wise."

The High-Sergeant gave a hard stare at Eve, thinking quietly to herself.

"And how has that wisdom been benefiting you? What keeps you going while your civilization crumbles around you?"

Eve turned her head to the floor before bringing her eyes came back up.

"Hope. Hope keeps my lungs filled with air. The hope of waking one day and having this _curse_ end. Not just the genophage, but the curse of violence that plagues my people. Even after the genophage is cured, there will be _many_ who will seek revenge on those who inflicted it upon us. It is a cycle of death that can only be broken by those who have power. The power to make peace in a world where war is the norm. _That_ is why we need leaders like Wrex, and the Commander. I see so much potential in them…"

Sandy red eyes pierced into swirling green in an unexpectedly deep gaze.

"… Just as I see the potential in you."

Reeling back, Ankara sneered at the Shaman.

"You don't know me."

Eve smiled beneath her mask.

"Oh, but I do. I know you've lost _so much_."

"You don't know what I've lost. I lose more every day while this war goes-"

" _Before_ this war, you've lost things that are _irreplaceable_."

Kassaran's eyes widened as Eve's own eyes saw into her. _Through_ her.

"Things that haunt you. _Every single night_. Things that follow you, things you love so much that you can't help but hate them for it. You've lost pieces of yourself along with them. Your faith, your kindness, your strength."

Anger bubbled up in the cabal warrior's chest.

"I'm plenty strong! I don't need some robed Krogan soothsayer telling me-"

"You cry yourself to sleep every night because of them, don't you?"

Ankara's head reared back at the interruption. Eve wrapped the blanket more securely around herself, staring into Kassaran's eyes.

"I know. I cannot even begin to tell you how many nights I have spent sleepless, looking to the stars with questions, hoping for answers which are beyond you and me, and everyone in the galaxy. I spent days looking at the sky, to the Eye of Wrath searching for something, _anything_ to make the pain stop. I blamed myself first. As a mother of dead children, my anger consumed me. And then I took it out on others just as you do now. Just as you only know how to do until you find your own answers. I know how it feels to be helpless, to not have even _seen_ their faces in their last moments-"

" **Enough**!"

A hard sob wracked her body as she tried gaining control over her emotions again. Ankara tore her eyes away from Eve's, bringing a hand up to hold her face before tears fell.

"Enough… Who the _fuck_ are you?"

She felt a hand on her shoulder and looked back up to Eve's smiling eyes. When had she gotten up from the medical table?

"Just a woman. A woman who has seen much in her years. Enough to recognize someone who is struggling with themselves. To see and differentiate those who can move _past_ their sorrow from those who will be _buried_ by it."

The Krogan shifted her eyes to look at Mordin, with his back turned from the duo to several devices lined up on the counter before him.

"Mordin has struggled much in his time. I can see the _agony_ hidden within his eyes, but he still has hope. Hope to atone for his actions. Hope to see a better future for those he once condemned. That hope, just like mine, helps him go on."

" _My_ responsibility…"

Mordin muttered to himself, unnoticed by either of them. Eve's sandy red eyes returned to Ankara's cat-like green eyes.

" _Pain begets wisdom_ , and the Krogan are wiser than you'd expect."


	20. Kill

**Disclaimer: Most of the characters and all of the locations, technologies, concepts, etc that appear in this story are property of Bioware/EA.**

* * *

 **This is War**

"Ahh damn it! Why'd it have ta' be spiders?"

James growled as he stomped his boot onto a stray swarmer. The large bug's entrails scraped onto the bottom of his shoe in a viscous paste. Shepard's team had become separated from Aralakh Company within minutes of meeting up with them. Now Jane, James, and Padok were moving through a pitch black cavern. The only sources of light besides their weapon-mounted flashlights were pools of liquid below them, glowing a dull cyan that wasn't nearly enough to allow proper sight throughout the cavern.

The dark crevice was almost unbearably humid, moist air sticking to the squad's skin like a thick coat of paint. The evidence of the Rachni presence was all around them, in the forms of thick, dark webbing, egg sacks both full and empty, as large as a human torso, and dead Krogan bodies.

"Look, on the ground. Metal tubing, possibly salvaged by the Rachni for use in construction?"

Wiks stated as he turned his flashlight to the dirt below them. Long, winding tubes snaked across the ground in numerous patterns, spreading around the trio.

"Looks like the same kind of wiring you see in a husk… And those bugs we keep seeing are very different from the ones I saw on Noveria. The Reapers may be involved in this."

"Oh, that's just great. Spiders and cuttlefish working together? I don't remember this being covered in basic."

The Commander raised the M-451 Firestorm she procured from a Krogan corpse, firing the weapon and burning down a section of dark webbing, temporarily lighting the cavern in a bright flare of red flame. The horrid stink of burning webs filled the thick air as the organic barrier disintegrated into nothing. The sound of moving rock and dirt hit the squad's ears and the trio whirled around, weapons ready and flashlights trained on the dark cavern behind them.

"Any movement?"

"None, Commander."

"Can barely see a damn thing down here, Lola."

Jane wiped the moist red hair and accumulating sweat from her brow before turning to the newly opened up path before them.

"Let's keep moving. Eyes open, people. They have home-field advantage here."

The group made their way into another dark, rocky corridor. The silence was unnerving as they made sure to avoid the various egg sacks that littered the ground at their feet. The cavern narrowed itself as they made their way deeper into the cave. Jane put a gloved finger up to her ear piece.

"Grunt, do you copy? We're making our way into the caves; the nest has to be here somewhere."

The only thing she got for a reply was garbled static.

"Grunt! Damn it…"

"Could the bugs have set up some kind of interference?"

James asked as he stepped along behind his Commander. The space was getting more narrow as they went and the air was beginning to get denser, thicker.

"Unlikely. If the Rachni honored their agreement with Shepard, there would be no reason. They are an intelligent species; the queen wouldn't risk another war with the galaxy after just a few short years of being released."

"EDI, see if you can reestablish the radio link."

'At once, Shepard.'

EDI's synthetic voice came through Jane's ear piece as her team ventured forward. The opposing darkness around them seemed almost sinister, as if the very air deigned to impede their progress. A rough, low sound made Padok turn to shine his light into the corridor behind them. It sounded almost like a growl but metallic, almost artificial.

"Wiks?"

The Salarian Captain stared into the stone hall; even his flashlight only offered a short view of a few feet before him. The inky blackness almost swirled and writhed before his eyes, as if amused at his attempt to pierce through. Another low rumble bounced off of the walls. A shift in the darkness was seen. Black eyes, even darker than the cave, shined as the light touched them.

" **Contact**!"

With a hoarse roar, a beast lunged out of the darkness at Wiks. The Salarian fired three shots into the thing's face before he was knocked to the ground. The beast reared up and then dove down, maw gaping with teeth like razors. Padok raised his Raptor horizontally to shove the weapon into its mouth and keeping it from mauling him alive. The beast thrashed and twisted itself, its form still shrouded in the darkness before James shined his light onto it.

"What the _fuck_!?"

The thing's body was a mangled conglomeration of metal and torn flesh, slightly larger than an average varren. Rotten tendons were visible within its four legs, cracked and blackened bone fused with gleaming steel. Bent, black spikes of what appeared to be rebar jutted from its back in a manner similar to a porcupine. Putrid entrails dragged from its rotted underbelly, and its face was a horrible countenance of a varren's that looked as if it had taken _far_ too many shots from a nail gun. The thing's skull was partly bifurcated down to between its black eyes, revealing hideously decomposed brain matter fused with glowing cybernetics.

Vega shot several slugs into the beast's head from his M-96 Mattock rifle, but it was undeterred. It continued to chomp and gnaw at the weapon within its mouth as Wiks struggled on the ground. Padok held his Raptor rifle with one hand while the other readied an omni-blade. Plunging the searing-hot blade into the creature's hide, he twisted and turned his arm as Vega shot several more rounds into it from his rifle.

"Get that thing off of him, **now**! We need to _move_!"

Shepard shouted as she pointed her light past the two. It was barely noticeable, but in the distance she could see dark forms shifting and moving in the blackness behind them. She turned forward again, only to find a husk directly in her face.

"Shit!"

Jane ducked the monster's swing as she launched a biotic nova blast forward, sending the husk to the ground. She looked on and saw more husks closing in, _dozens_ more. She looked back again at her squad. They would be ripped apart in a space this constricted.

The beast finally let go of Wiks' weapon to turn its attention to Vega with a vicious snarl. The Lieutenant had barely a second before the thing lunged upward, only to be caught by the front of its throat midair by James' palm. The monstrosity snapped its jaws at James in an attempt to get closer to its prey. The Lieutenant grimaced at the beast and slammed its head into the wall beside them, swapping to his newly acquired Claymore heavy shotgun to blast a round into the thing's head, finally forcing it to stop moving as pieces of long dead brain matter and coagulated blood painted the rock wall.

" **We need to** _ **move, now**_!"

Jane barked as she finally pulled the trigger on her firestorm. Scorching flames filled the space ahead of the group as the husks were burned to a crisp. Jane slammed her weapon into a charred husk that barreled through the flames, shattering its over-cooked form. James tossed the varren beast back to the darkness from whence it leapt and took Padok's hand, raising him up to his feet as they joined Shepard ahead of them.

"More enemies inbound!"

Wiks cried as he fired more rounds into the husks closing in behind them. The team moved quickly through the passage, fighting off husks from both directions. The air felt thicker than jam as Jane's armor was quickly covered in soot and the grimy carbon remains of the cybernetic creatures she burned. With a look forward, the Commander could see their salvation several meters away.

"Light! We're almost out!"

"Hallelujah! Let's pick it up!"

James shot a carnage round at the mass of monsters behind them. More of those animal-like creatures closed in on them. Wiks' shimmering form appeared before Vega as they retreated. With the enemy distracted by the decoy, the group made their way to the cracked opening after Jane cleared out the last of the husks in front of them. Approaching the thin hole, Shepard looked out of it to see a larger cavern filled with sunlight.

"We've got an open area, looks like a five foot drop. Move it!"

Jane said as she ushered Wiks through the hole first before stopping Vega, holding out her hand urgently.

"Grenade!"

Vega pushed a frag grenade into Jane's gloved hand before he pushed himself through the narrow hole. The decoy faded away and the horde of monstrosities poured forth through the corridor, rushing at frightening speeds as they moved in on Shepard. Jane looked back and pushed the top of the grenade, dropping it as she launched herself through the crack and fell down to the dirt below. A loud explosion was heard as James and Wiks looked up to see the narrow hole they had used crumble and fill itself with rock and dirt.

The large cavern sprawled out around them. Rays of sunlight filled some of the space through the huge cracks and openings in the ceiling. The floor of the cave was broken up into varying levels of ground, some slightly raised while others were lowered. Liquid pools dotted parts of the cave floor. What seemed to be a cliff sat to the group's left while the masses of stone they stood on were separated by a small gap. The air around them was less dense and even though there was more air circulating in this area, it was still just as unspeakably humid as it was in the stone corridor they had been assaulted in.

James wiped at his sweat slicked face. He reached down to take Jane's hand, hoisting her up to her feet.

"Hah… Looks like we won't be using that entrance again."

Wiks shook his head as he checked his rifle, looking for bite marks.

"Husks… I think it's safe to say that the Reapers are most definitely involved. And I wouldn't want to meet those quadruped creatures again in a closed space."

Jane was about to reply before a burst of static came over their radios. She wiped the matted bronze hair behind her ear and held a finger to the earpiece.

"Grunt! That you?"

' _Kzzzrrghghrr-_ epard? She- _shhhkzrr-_ you there?'

"We're here, what's your status?"

'Mostly alive. Lost a few Krogan to sink holes. Bad way ta' go.'

The sounds of crumbling rocks caught the group's attention across the cave.

"Grunt, we've confirmed that Reaper forces are here and are either working with the Rachni or using them for something. We need to find the central nest _immediately,_ before they manage to hatch an army down here."

'Hah! This might be a challenge worthy of true Krogan. What's your location? We'll meet you further in.'

Jane looked around briefly for any signs that might help in identifying where they were. Her eyes landed on a metal structure on the far side of the cavern.

"We're near what looks like pieces of a Reaper transport; it's lodged into the cave walls beside us, over a huge ravine."

'Hmmph. I think I see it. From what we know, the tunnels that Rachni usually build all lead to some kind of central area. Our scans of the area seem to show same thing. Dozens of tunnels, all leading to a big open space. My guess is _that's_ where the nest is. We'll try ta' meet you there-'

Gunfire and rough shouts rang out over the raido.

'Hrmph! Lay down some fire! I think we just found a few new friends. Get your ass moving, Shepard!'

More sounds of rushing stones and dirt filled the air and before a second had passed, a red beam of unknown energy cracked the stalagmite beside her.

"Shit! Cover, now!"

The group used the low rocks and raised ground as protection from the volley of shots. Jane looked over to see another monstrosity across the gap before her squad. A creature that barely resembled the insectoid Rachni she had seen more than two and a half years ago. Its body was bloated with orange colored sacks while its exoskeleton was cracked and melted with cybernetic parts and pieces as it dragged itself along on thin legs. Its head (if it could even be recognized as a head anymore) was mounted with what looked like two cannon-like weapons, each shooting out their own red beams of concentrated heat similar to a cannibal's arm rifle, but of a significantly higher caliber. High enough to tear through stone thicker than a Krogan body.

"And there's our bug problem! We've got cannibals and more husks inbound!"

The Lieutenant yelled as he switched over to the Mattock stored on his back, firing into the mass of creatures across the way. As he said, cannibals and husks were _pouring_ out of the walls of the cave, crawling along the ground through holes and openings like roaches. The modified Rachni fired its cannons from its elevated position above the field, narrowly missing Vega's head as he ducked back down below his rocky cover.

"We won't get any traction with that thing firing on us! Padok!"

"Affirmative!"

Wiks activated another decoy ahead of their position, attracting the attention of the Rachni and cannibals as Jane launched a shockwave. The biotic force crossed the gap and flung the husks attempting to cross over to the trio's side. With the enemy's attention away from the group, Wiks launched an incineration blast at the Rachni above before ducking again to avoid another shot that exploded several feet behind him. James reared up and fired off a carnage round into the creature, resulting in a fiery explosion of red and orange flame as its armor burned away and fell to the ground across the cavern. Jane lifted her head to see the remaining forces they had to deal with, five cannibals and four more husks.

"Let's get over there! James, light 'em up for me!"

Vega grunted as he tore an incendiary grenade from a pocket on his body armor. Cracking the top and twisting it, James tossed the cylinder at the group. Seeing the flames, Shepard leapt up above her cover and charged clear over the gap separating the two masses of stone flooring in a flash of wispy blue biotics. The red-haired Commander barreled into one of the affected cannibals, an explosion of red and blue flames detonated, successfully burning two of the afflicted cannibals to ashes and sending the others back from the force of the explosion.

Wiks fired two rounds into the skull of a husk before bounding over the small gorge to join Shepard. Jane brought the firestorm up to bathe the two husks coming toward her in flames before their own forms exploded as another incineration blast made contact. Her weapon was ripped from her hands as a cannibal latched onto her side. The monster's face came inches before her own as it bared black teeth that looked as sharp as talons. Jane put a hand up just in time to the creature's forehead to stop it from taking a chunk of her face from her. The thing's breath was enough to make her gag, an awful mixture of blood, copper and rotted flesh in a rancid cocktail that washed over her face.

Before she could push the cannibal away, James tackled the thing off of her and threw its shorter form to the ground, putting another round of Claymore pellets into its chest. Vega fired off another carnage round into another cannibal before it could fire into them. A shockwave launched from Jane's palm to smash the creature across the cave in a show of dancing flame. The remaining Batarian monster's head split open from Wiks' rifle, but the salvaged grenade in its hands was tossed. The beeping object flew through the air to land at James' and Shepard's feet.

"Shit! Move!"

The Lieutenant shoved Jane to the side as he turned his back to the grenade as it exploded. The force of the blast sent him to the ground, his armor blackened and burned.

"Damn it! James, you alright!?"

"Aagh, I'll live. Don't think I'm much of a fan of getting barbequed alive as much as I do!"

Before he could fully rise to his feet, the remaining husk launched itself from a hidden rock and latched onto James' back, forcing him to stumble forward.

"Lieutenant!"

Jane shouted as she trained her pistol on the husk's form. She couldn't fire due to the risk of hitting James. Vega struggled to get to his feet as the husk struck his face several times, dazing him. Turning around and standing fully, James took the jaw of the cybernetic creature in his hand and crushed the lower portion of its bald head. The thing was undeterred, however, as it tried landing more blows.

"James, watch it!"

The struggle had taken them over to the edge of the cliff beside them. With another hard grunt, Vega managed to hold the husk at arm's length in the air away from his body. A rifle shot rang out and the husk's head burst in an explosion of dark gray fluids. Finally tossing the limp body on the ground, the Lieutenant huffed and panted as he wiped the blood from his forehead.

"Hah… Hah… shit. Those things are tougher than they loo-"

Before he could finish his sentence, another red blast burst out at his feet and sent him flying through the air, tumbling down into the dark of the ravine.

" _ **JAMES**_!"

Jane screamed as she watched the Lieutenant fall into the shadows below them. Wiks looked to the source of the red shot and saw the charred form of the Rachni monstrosity.

"Commander! Get down!"

Padok pulled Shepard into the cover of a nearby stone pillar. More husks and cannibals entered the battle field around it.

" _Fuck_! James, can you hear me!?"

She shouted through her radio. Silence was her reply before EDI's voice sounded in her ear.

'Commander, Lieutenant Vega's vitals are steady, it seems he has not sustained significant injury from the data transmitted by his hardsuit.'

"Find out where he landed, _now_! See if you can contact him!"

'At once.'

Jane picked up her Eviscerator and looked to Padok.

"Just you and me for now. Ready Wiks?"

The Salarian Captain nodded and pushed another thermal clip into his Raptor sniper rifle.

"Always, Commander!"

* * *

James shook his head as he lifted himself from the glowing pool of water. The fall wasn't as lethal as it looked when he had seen it atop the cliff. His head was pounding and his body ached, but he was alive.

"Rgh… shit. No broken bones, good. Dónde coño estoy ahora...?"

He took in his surroundings. The pool of glowing liquid below him served to illuminate the ditch he had landed in. The dark cave was bathed in the dull blue light and he could see several holes in the walls around him. Not much else was visible. A burst of static came over his radio.

"Hello? Lola? Anyone there?"

' _Zzzrrkgh-_ eutenant? _Sssirgghzzgh-_ ant Vega? Do you copy?'

He instantly recognized EDI's voice through the garbled noise.

"EDI, hah, gracias a Dios! Where the hell am I?"

'You've fallen approximately twelve meters below Commander Shepard's and Padok Wiks' location. They are on their way as I speak. I would suggest readying weapons. There is an unknown heat signature closing in on your position.'

James grasped for his shotgun, only to find it gone from his back along with his rifle. Looking around, he saw the Claymore on an elevated rock platform above him, too high for him to retrieve easily. His Mattock was nowhere to be found. The low sound of a metallic snarl entered his ears and made his blood run cold in his veins, despite how swelteringly hot it was.

He turned to the center of the pool to see a varren creature entering the cave slowly, black eyes trained on James. Its head was misshapen. Its forehead was split down the middle to between its eyes, glaring at James with hatred and spite. Vega stared at the beast curiously for a moment before he saw the obvious burn of a shotgun round at the bottom of its jaw.

"Damn it… I thought I killed you already."

The beast's low growl bounced off the walls as it stalked its prey, moving slowly to the side to observe the Lieutenant's movements. James slowly reached for the combat knife on his chest plate and drew the kinetic blade from its sheath, the metal gleaming in the dark of the pit.

"Alright, cabron. Let's dance."

With a vicious roar, the beast leapt forward, jaws extended as it tried to grasp James in a crushing grip. Vega quickly moved to the side and brought a boot up to kick the creature into the rocky wall. The thing recovered quickly and stalked slowly across from Vega again. Lunging once more, James grabbed the top and bottom of the beast's maw, holding it's mouth open as the creature attempted to snap its jaws closed. The Lieutenant shoved its head down and brought his combat knife up, switching his grip on the weapon as he plunged it down into the beast's split skull. He twisted the blade several times before the beast stopped moving. Grinning, James was about to pull the knife from its head when it began bucking and bouncing in his grasp.

With a sharp whip of its body, James was flung into the far wall of the chamber. The knife shined in the darkness, still imbedded into the thing's head as it ran towards Vega's recovering form. The marine grunted in exertion as he dodged to the side again. He lifted his armored fist and slammed it into the creature's side where he saw Wiks' omni-blade make contact. The varren-like monster howled in pain as it limped briefly away from James, only to come around again and lunge at the buff marine. This time, James was too slow to dodge completely as his hand was caught in the razor sharp maw of the beast. Acting quickly, James' hand would have been cleaved from his wrist if it weren't for his activation of the Fucault currents within his armor, creating a diamond hard surface which the beast had no hope of piercing.

The thing writhed and twisted itself, trying to get Vega's hand to come off but his fortified armor held firm. With a grin, James grasped the knife, pulling it from the beast's head and plunging it into its side where he had punched it. Another whine of pain resounded through the cave and it released Vega's hand to get away, only to find its head wrapped in an iron vice underneath James' arm. He began stabbing the blade into the beast's side again and again. Black blood poured from the wound into the glowing water. Ripping the torn flesh from the rotten bone it covered, Vega saw the creature's heart exposed and pumping. With one final thrust, the Lieutenant plunged the knife into the blackened heart, twisting once, twice, and once more.

The beast stilled its movements and slumped in his grasp with one last pained whine from its throat.

"Hah… hah…"

James panted as he let go of the thing's head and allowed it to fall to the shallow pool below with a splash. He laid his back onto the rock wall behind him to catch his breath as he slid down beside the beast's corpse.

"Hah… Good fight, salvaje… good fight…"

The Lieutenant patted the body beside him before footfalls reached his ears.

"Vega! You in one piece!?"

James grinned as he looked up to see the bright flash of light above him.

"Yeah… just chillin' with a friend, Lola. A little fall ain't gonna take me down."

Jane smirked as she looked down to Vega's sitting form, noticing the newly named savage's body beside him. James stood up from the pool of glowing liquid as Wiks bent down to extend a three-fingered hand.

"Let's go, Lieutenant. We have a nest to get to and some Krogan to help."

Wiks took Vega's hand in a firm grasp and lifted him up as the Lieutenant grabbed his Claymore along the way.

"Right behind you."


	21. Legacy

**Disclaimer: Most of the characters and all of the locations, technologies, concepts, etc that appear in this story are property of Bioware/EA.**

* * *

 **This is War**

"Doctor T'soni, Agent Sylveris' detachment at the edge of the Athena Nebula has gone dark. Reaper forces may be responsible, as there have been several sightings in outer Council space."

Glyph's overly cheerful voice echoed throughout the office. Liara scowled into the screen before her as she worked out numerous algorithms that flew past her eyes. The Reapers were advancing too quickly and the Asari military was preparing too slowly. She knew her people preferred discretion and tact over violence and brute force, but with an enemy such as this, they _needed_ to forego the routine and muster up as much offense as they possibly could. Otherwise, their world will _burn_.

"Contact team Primus and have them investigate. I want reports every hour. How is Shepard's team? Did they find the nest?"

"No, Doctor. However, they are close to regrouping with Aralakh Company as we speak. They have been encountering heavy resistance from modified Rachni and Reaper forces."

A model of said modified Rachni and Reaper controlled varren appeared on the monitor above the one where she worked.

"Ravager… long range artillery. Savage… melee shock troops. They certainly have their hands full. Give me their status."

The screens beside her lit up with three-dimensional models depicting the ground team's appearances, alongside scrolling paragraphs of medical data. James' data enlarged to reveal his injuries.

"Lieutenant Vega has sustained minor fractures in several ribs and slight blunt trauma to his head and back."

Padok's model enlarged alongside it.

"Captain Wiks has several burns along his neck and shoulders."

Jane's image was last in the group.

"Commander Shepard has received a number of minor puncture wounds and minor burns along her back. The ground team's overall health is in good condition."

Liara's brows furrowed. It would be false to claim that seeing her Jane put herself in harm's way didn't fill her with unease and worry. If it were up to Liara, Shepard would be on the safest, most secure ship in the fleet with Hackett and have someone else in the thick of the fighting. But she knew her love would have no part in it. She knew the situation. If it wasn't Shepard on the battlefield, they may as well forfeit to the Reapers. But if Jane…

 _Promise me you're going to come back._

 _I'm not planning to die again anytime soon._

No. Jane wouldn't let herself. If anyone could bring this war to a close and live to see another day, it was the Commander. _Her_ Commander.

The former archaeologist shook herself from her thoughts and returned her attention to the screen before her. There was still much to theorize and prepare for where the Crucible was concerned. She had successfully mapped out how the device was to be assembled and many of the components they would need. The way the information laid itself out before her was… sophisticated, in a way. The Protheans somehow managed to account for innumerable languages that many of the societies of the galaxy now spoke, and the arrangement of data was incredibly simple, so as to make sure whoever read into it far enough would be able to understand. Had the situation not been so dire, Liara would have been in awe of the sheer brilliance that was on display before her.

A flicker of light caught her eye on the screen farthest to her right. Immediately snapping her head to the monitor, she watched it for several seconds before returning to the one where she sat. Another flick of light had her standing up from her chair and stepping over to the screen in an instant. Bringing a hand up to the touch technology screen, she checked the display settings. Everything seemed to be working normally. The screen presented data on the Crucible's power battery tech. Liara tilted her head in curiosity.

This monitor was brand new; she had only bought it with the rest of the ones laid out on the wall less than a week ago. Perhaps it was defective. They would dock at the Citadel after this operation was over, she would need to find a replacement-

"Doctor T'soni, there is a full sized organic heat signature within your office that is not your own. This matter may require your immediate attention."

The Shadow Broker drew the pistol at her hip, spinning around to look at the center of her office. How could something enter her room without her noticing? It wasn't possible. Liara wracked her brain for any strange behavior from the crew. None seemed indoctrinated, and none seemed the type to sneak into her office. Who could-

'You know, you should mess with the settings on that holo-drone. That thing is _way_ too perky for the situation.'

Liara jumped at the sudden voice to her right. Looking over, the Asari had to roll her sapphire eyes at the image of a hooded face, a sly smirk on a partially marked mouth.

"Kasumi, what in the name of the Goddess are you doing?"

The smirk grew wider on the thief's lips. The screen returned to its usual display mode. Holstering her pistol, Liara looked to her office again to see the master thief Kasumi Goto deactivate her optical cloak, revealing her lounging form atop Liara's bed.

"Just seeing the new toys the Normandy got after being handed over to the Alliance. Surprisingly fewer than I thought."

It was exasperating _enough_ dealing with everything already on her plate; she couldn't deal with a hyperactive kleptomaniac with an annoyingly efficient talent for sneaking about.

"I _mean_ , what are you doing here on this ship, _in my systems_ , when you should be working on decrypting information on the Crucible! With your expertise in hacking tech and sifting through code, you're an invaluable asset to us."

Kasumi pouted and sat up from Liara's blue pillows, placing her hands in her lap.

"Technically, I _am_ helping with this Crucible thing. Data is easy to mine and analyze, and I can glance at a piece of tech to know how it works, but this thing is gonna take time to work out."

The thief held up her omni tool, activating its holographic interface. Beside Liara, the many monitor displays installed into the wall flickered with mountains of information, most of which were decoded and categorized before shifting to even more code and pre-analyzed data.

"I figured: 'Hey! What better place to start than at the source?' You _were_ the first to find out about this thing, weren't you? I've already decrypted a good third of the data you didn't get to."

Kasumi's eyes glinted in the shadow created by her hood as she smiled impishly from Liara's bed, bending her legs and wrapping her arms around her knees.

"Also, you should _really_ update your security protocols. I managed to get in with one of my simpler cracking algorithms. To your credit, it took about five hours but still."

Liara put a palm to her face as she grumbled in frustration. She'd _just_ upgraded her software security with some of the best systems from Ariake Tech after returning from Sur'Kesh. She was _still_ running programs looking for data leaks in her networks. Kasumi's smirk grew.

"I _could_ help with that, you know…"

"How did you even get on this ship?"

Kasumi giggled quietly as she rocked herself back and forth, idly tapping her feet on the clean, white duvet.

"I had a quick talk with EDI in her fancy new body. After getting some help from Shep with dealing with an indoctrinated jelly fish on the Citadel. EDI let me aboard and even let me pull a few pranks on some of the crew, nothing that would interrupt operations, of course. Just a little shenanigans to lighten things up around here! It took Garrus quite a while to find where I hid his rifle polish."

Liara stepped forward with a frown on her face. She wasn't sure if she wanted to know any more about indoctrinated jelly fish beyond Jane's brief explanation.

"And how did you get into _my_ room without my notice?"

"How did _you_ get in?"

A dark blue brow marking raised itself in curiosity.

"I walked in… how else-"

"There aren't exactly a lot of vents to squeeze through onboard. So I walked in with you!"

The black clad thief laughed again as she activated her omni-tool and began fiddling with the holographic interface.

"Anyway, I meant it when I said I would help. I _did_ turn off my heat insulators for a reason. I may come and go from time to time, but I'll make sure to check in often. I might even be able to help with a few missions."

Liara sighed as she sat back down onto the office chair in the middle of the room. The Shadow Broker leveled a gaze at Kasumi, staring at her for several moments before crossing her arms.

"If I find any of my equipment _mysteriously_ disappearing, I am going to be _very_ upset. Understand?"

The thief nodded her hooded head as she sat up straight and saluted.

"Yes ma'am!"

Liara brought a gloved hand up to rub at the bridge of her nose before turning back toward the holo-keyboard she'd been working on.

"So, what kind of mess has Shep stepped into this time?"

The former archaeologist jumped at the sudden voice behind her as Kasumi appeared over her shoulder.

"Dealing with Rachni and Reaper forces, last I checked. I wouldn't be surprised if they'd found an actual Reaper by now-"

"Doctor T'soni, Commander Shepard's ground team has successfully eradicated the opposition within the central nest. They are approaching a very large heat signature."

Liara and Kasumi looked up to the screens above them to see a visual lay out of the area alongside video feeds from the group's hardsuit systems.

* * *

"… **Si… lence…** "

The squad raised their weapons with a start at the conglomeration of Krogan voices joined together all around them.

"On the walls, Krogan bodies."

Padok quietly whispered as he observed the area. The bodies of the voices littered the dark chamber they stood in, pitch black if it weren't for their flash lights and the bioluminescence radiating from the large figure before them.

" **Our children… they know naught… but the vexing, sour note… they yearn… for silence…** "

Shepard immediately recognized the large form before them, shrouded in darkness. She lifted her shotgun to gain a better look.

"You… I let you go for a reason."

The Rachni Queen bowed her head. Her body looked similar to what Jane remembered from their encounter on Noveria. She seemed larger, yet incredibly less healthy. Glowing scar tissue adorned many parts of her body; green blood flowed from cuts and bruises along her large neck and head. The Queen seemed to be rooted to her place, contained by thick, dark webs.

" **Yes… we… remember… Our promise…** "

"You promised to disappear in peace!"

The Queen shook her large head.

" **We did…! We left… began on a new world… peaceful… We sang our own songs, filled… with color… and light…** "

James walked up to a Krogan body, inspecting it closely. His eyes were glassy, his breathing shallow and quick, too quick to sustain Krogan lungs. They must have been the remains of the scout team. These men were dead as dead could be, yet they talked. Vega shook his head and stepped away. He would need one hell of a drink after this.

" **Then… the machines…! They came… through the relay! They soured our songs… with notes as dark as ink! They take our children… away… far, away… to war… to their mad orchestra!** "

Wiks came up to Shepard's side, observing the Rachni Queen.

"She doesn't seem to be indoctrinated. And I would have expected more resistance here."

Jane nodded her head.

"You're right. Maybe because she isn't indoctrinated, the other Rachni stay away, in case she decides to 'sing her songs' again."

" **We know… we know the machines. We hear their horrible tones… back, in the past… The songs of** _ **Nazara**_ **… haunt our dreams…** "

Jane's eyes widened. She knew that name.

"Nazara… you mean Sovereign?"

" **We only know Nazara… Our people found it… sleeping… dreaming… Our past sisters… They studied it… in awe of it… revered it…** _ **worshipped**_ **it. Nazara was the first… to bathe our songs in true blackness… even… as it** _ **slept**_ **.** "

The Salarian Captain's jaw may as well have hit the floor.

"Are… are you saying that the Reapers were responsible for the Rachni Wars? Incredible! In the worst way possible, but still absolutely incredible!"

" **Reapers… machines with songs of organic beings… A single thought… sends ripples of dark music through the galaxy. We hear them… but we resist… Our children… cannot… do not know… how."**

Jane shook her head, wet, matted hair swaying from side to side. They didn't have the time to talk like this.

"None of this matters now; is there anything we can do to help your children?"

The Queen lowered her head and visibly shuddered, a high pitched titter resounding from her mouth.

" **The children… are lost… in the darkness… their only hope… is to return… to the great silence.** "

A sudden burst of static came through their radios.

' _czzrrrghss-_ Shepard! Shepard, we're getting movement here. _A lot_ of movement.'

Jane put a finger up to her earpiece.

"Grunt, we've located the Rachni Queen. She doesn't seem responsible for the modified Rachni being hostile, the Reapers came to take control of them but she managed to resist."

The sounds of moving dirt and rock caught their ears above them.

" **The children! They come… they seek to end our song… we must leave!** "

Shepard looked to the Queen again.

"You want to come with us?"

The Rachni Queen nodded her large insectoid head.

" **Yes! We… can help… we will not… make the mistake our past sisters have made… you bequeathed us mercy once… do it again… and we will** _ **fight**_ **for you!** "

Wiks looked to the web-like restraints placed on the Rachni Queen.

"There's too little time for her to escape before the enemy is upon us!"

'Shepard! We've got more Rachni here! Whatever you're gonna do, do it _now_!'

Vega glanced worriedly to his Commander.

"You sure you wanna do this, Lola?"

Shepard's jaw clenched itself as she thought. The Queen would supply the battlefields with thousands of Rachni shock troops while workers would begin helping with the Crucible. Should they risk their lives for that? Technically, the Queen _did_ fulfill her promise to disappear. She was at no fault here.

"Shepard!"

James' shout shook her from her thoughts. For good or ill, her decision was made. She refused to cause yet _another_ genocide. She drew her pistol from her hip.

"Listen up! The Queen needs time to escape; I need Aralakh Company to hold off the corrupted Rachni!"

' _What_!? Damn it, Shepard, you'd better know what you're doing! Stay there, I'm coming!'

"Wait, Grunt what abou-!"

' **Shut up**! I'm leaving my squad to get _you_ out! If you die, we have as good a chance against the Reapers as a pyjack against a _thresher maw_!'

Jane shook her head as she made her way over to the locking mechanism holding the Queen in place. With several shots, the lock opened and released the webs holding her. The Queen made a grateful squeal as she retreated into the dark of the cave before them. A loud explosion of rock resounded off of the walls of the large chamber as a hole was made in the wall behind them. Grunt's stocky form emerged from the smoke to land in a glowing pool of water on the cavern floor.

"C'mon! Let's go!"

Jane nodded as she drew her Evicerator.

"Let's move, people!"

The group made their way to the side of the chamber, entering one of the many tunnel networks of the Rachni hive. Grunt raised his Claymore to shoot an incoming ravager, slamming into it and pushing it out of the way with ease to allow the team to continue onwards. The tunnels opened up to several larger areas, containing countless Rachni troopers. Ducking behind several large rocks, Grunt led the group out into more dark tunnels.

Coming up upon a fork, the Krogan soldier held up his fist to signal the group to stop. Taking a glance in the leftward path, Grunt could see dozens of ravagers filling the cave before him. He looked down the rightward path. There was no way they would be able to run along that straightaway to get back to the surface without the Rachni firing on them. There was no cover to speak of on the path, they'd be vulnerable and exposed.

"Grrgh…Shepard… We used that path down there to get inside the tunnels. It'll lead you out topside. But you need to move your ass."

Jane came up next to Grunt as he pointed down the tunnel leading to the right.

"You mean _we_ , right?"

"Hrmph… not this time, Shepard. Signal your pilot."

Shepard frowned and shook her head.

"Grunt, no! We can't just-"

Grunt growled and grabbed the top of Jane's chestplate, pulling her in close as pale blue met emerald green.

"Now listen here, I didn't sacrifice my men for some damn _bug_. I did it for _you_! Because you're the best chance we have, and the best battlemaster _anyone_ could hope for! So don't you die, or I'll bring you back ta' kill you, myself! _Understood_!?"

The look in Grunt's eyes was enough. She knew she couldn't talk him out of this. Jane looked away, teeth clenched, before Grunt shoved her away toward the right path.

"Now _go_! I'm not gonna say it again, damn it!"

Jane looked in despair as grunt turned to head toward the mass of Rachni. Wiping her eyes, Shepard and her team began running down the path that led outside.

Hearing the footsteps move away from his position, Grunt sighed and looked to the ravagers before him.

"Hrmph… My turn…"

The Rachni finally noticed the soldier's approach. With a boisterous roar, Grunt charged forward, shooting one ravager and pushing it aside before shooting another and slamming his fist into its face. With another loud howl, Grunt activated his incendiary ammunition and fired into another ravager beside him. Unleashing a concussive round into the burning Rachni, the creature exploded into a ball of fire and dark blood, forcing the others surrounding it to back off of the Krogan soldier. One ravager managed to shoot a round into Grunt's chest, only to have the red energy shot be absorbed by the soldier's fortified armor. Grinning again, Grunt charged the monster and shot several rounds into its face, forcing it to the ground before stomping its head into the dirt with a large Krogan boot.

A savage managed to latch onto Grunt's back, teeth attempting to rip into his armor before he reached behind to toss the beast into the crowd of Rachni. Firing two more rounds, Grunt fell to his knees as a razor sharp claw dug into his back, between armor plating both natural and artificial to enter the sensitive body cavity. Growling in pain, Grunt looked up to see the barrel of one of the ravagers separated from its owner. Grabbing the piece, the indomitable Krogan slammed the end of it into the face of another savage before it could leap onto him and began stomping the beast into the stone floor below in a thick paste. Grunt threw the barrel into the crowd of ever-growing Rachni and charged into the group, grabbing one and smashing his forehead into it. The sounds of cracking bone and metal filled the space above the constant metallic hissing. The Krogan soldier looked out to the mob of Rachni monsters, vision filling with red as the familiar rush of a blood rage washed over his body. He began laughing hysterically as he thrust a fist into another ravager.

"I…"

Another fist was pounded into a corrupted Rachni's face before the metal plating of a shoulder slammed it into the ground. He reached down to tear the ravager's cannon from its head to smash it down onto a group of swarmers.

"Am…"

A boot lifted from the ground to punt a savage across the cavern. Grunt charged forward again and grabbed a ravager, lifting it clear off of the ground before running forward again, knocking against more Rachni and using the one in his hands as a _battering ram_.

" _ **KROGAN!**_ "

* * *

James panted and wheezed as he raised his hands into the air to flag down Lieutenant Cortez. The shuttle came down before the group after they had exited the caves behind them. He'd never run so fast in his life. Behind him, Padok and Jane came up to watch the shuttle door open. Shepard looked to the ground, an unhappy scowl on her face.

She promised herself… She _promised_ that she wouldn't leave another to die after Elysium. After Kaiden. After _Bahak_ , for _fuck's_ sake! Her entire military career was based on leaving people to fucking die. She had made it through the Omega-four Relay with no casualties. She fought her way through the Collector base with no casualties. She saved her abducted crew with no casualties. She escaped the base and _destroyed_ the Collectors with _no casualties_! Yet she willingly sacrificed her friend to escape a nest of bugs. She should've dragged him with them. Should've ordered Wiks to set up a decoy, even if it wouldn't have lasted as long as they needed to make it out, she should've done _something_.

Shepard felt a hand on her shoulder and looked up to see Padok's face, smiling grimly.

"It's never easy… Decisions on the battlefield don't make or break a soldier. It's the thoughts they have afterwards that dictate their path forward."

Jane swallowed the lump in her throat and nodded, tears springing into her eyes. James climbed up into the shuttle before them. He turned back to look at Shepard and Wiks. He wasn't sure if he respected this woman, or resented this woman. She was the reason all his efforts against the Collectors were for nothing. And now she sacrificed a healthy and elite Krogan platoon to save a gigantic bug on the premise of a glorified I.O.U. But he would be lying if he said she wasn't a damn _artist_ on the field, and her decisions were questionable but they weren't in a position to turn to anyone else. She was their best bet; he didn't have a doubt in his mind about it.

The Lieutenant looked past Shepard and Padok at seeing slight movement from the cave they exited. A glint of bloodied armor greeted his eyes and he couldn't help but grin.

"Well, I'll be damned…"

Jane lifted her gaze to Vega's before following his line of sight to the cave entrance. She found her own smile forming on her dirtied face.

"Grunt!"

The Krogan himself stepped into the light of the sun, armor dented and bloody. Face bruised and battered. Mouth in a firm grin as he limped his way out of the cave. Jane ran to her former squadmate, a wide smile on her face.

"I could… really use that dinner… right about now…"

Grunt muttered as he slumped into Jane's arms. Vega and Wiks ran up to the two, James pulling Grunt's arm over his shoulders as the Commander did the same with his other arm. Wiks quickly activated his omni-tool to run medical scans as they pulled him into the shuttle.

"Heh, we'll get you enough food to make your stomach burst, Grunt. Just stay awake, c'mon Grunt, stay with me. Grunt! C'mon, stay right here with me!"

Jane said as she laid the Krogan down on the floor of the shuttle. She tapped the side of his face gently with a palm, trying to keep his focus as the door to the shuttle closed and they began lifting off to rendezvous with the SSV Normandy SR2.


	22. Role

**Disclaimer: Most of the characters and all of the locations, technologies, concepts, etc that appear in this story are property of Bioware/EA.**

* * *

 **This is War**

"Rrghrrrgh… SHARKS!"

Eve and Captain Wiks jumped at the loud outburst on the table beside them. Mordin and Karin seemed unaffected.

"He does that."

Doctor Chakwas said nonchalantly. Activating her omni-tool, she ran the device over Grunt's prone form, laid out across the medical bed and under heavy sedatives. Much of his armor had been removed and cleaned, sitting in a neat pile next to his bed. Most of his exposed skin and natural armor plating was covered in bandages and medical stasis pads.

"Grunt extremely durable, even by Krogan standard. Never fully acknowledged Warlord Okeer for incredible proficiency in clone experimentation. Valiant effort against genophage. Pleasant surprise from Krogan scientist."

Mordin said from his work station. While Okeer's attempts at creating the definition of a 'perfect' Krogan were in vain, the soldier sitting in the medbay with them was truly a marvel of genetic ingenuity. His redundant nervous system worked at an incredible pace to replace lost tissue and blood. An exceptional specimen, indeed.

"You of all people should know what conviction can bring out in people. I can only hope _your_ conviction can measure up."

Wrex's deep rumble of a voice echoed throughout the medbay as he strode in through the doors. Mordin frowned as he looked up from his microscope to glance at the Krogan clan leader.

"No need for distrust. _Will_ complete cure. Krogan will live freely again, my responsibility."

Wrex grinned as he slapped his palm on the Scientist's back (almost causing him to knock the microscope over).

"Just givin' ya' a hard time, Doctor. So, how's our little runt doing?"

Wrex asked as he made his way past Wiks, who was currently running a scan of Eve with his omni-tool, to approach Doctor Chakwas.

"He's recovering as well as he usually does, even faster than you, in fact. Give him a few days rest and he'll be back on his feet and killing as if nothing happened."

"Hmmph. Wish we could say the same for Aralakh Company. But those Krogan knew what they were getting into."

Padok looked over to regard Wrex for a few moments.

"They fought very bravely. Even though I believe they gave themselves for an incredibly noble reason, it may seem a questionable decision to many people."

The large Krogan huffed and turned to the Salarian Captain.

"To morons, maybe. I know Shepard. I was there when she spared the Queen the first time. If she spared her a second time, it _had_ to be the right call. Besides, I'da loved ta' seen the looks on the Crucible engineer's faces when they saw Rachni boarding their station. Hah!"

Wiks chuckled at Wrex's enthusiastic response.

"Recruiting Rachni while brokering an alliance between Krogan and Turians by curing the genophage… I can't imagine a more fanciful scenario."

Eve smiled behind her cloth mask as she pulled her blanket more securely around herself.

"There's little else that is capable of bringing people together in such a way than a common enemy."

"Indeed. Hope allies can settle differences soon. May not live long enough to- wait, replacement tissue sample gone. Left it next to microscope, where… hm, oh well. Wrex! Have need of another tissue sample for repeat analysis. Hope you don't mind."

Mordin smiled disarmingly as he held up a fresh scalpel, gleaming in the bright light of the medbay. The large Krogan visibly shuddered as he glared at the horrid medical tool.

"If this doesn't cure the genophage, I'll find you and wear yer entrails as a necklace."

Wrex muttered as he began removing pieces of his maroon armor. Eve couldn't help but chuckle lowly as Wiks carefully drew a small blood sample from her arm. None of the occupants of the medbay noticed a hooded figure make itself visible atop the inner table within the mess hall. A thin, gloved hand held up a small vial.

"Ehehe, I wonder how much I can sell a sample of pure, one-hundred-percent Krogan beef cake for. I'm sure there's a market fo- hey!"

The vial was quickly snatched out of Kasumi's hand by Liara's own. The Shadow Broker leveled a hard stare at the thief.

"And just _what_ are you doing with this?"

Kasumi smiled sheepishly as she brought a hand up to scratch at her cheek.

"Just seeing how much I can get away with. Either Mordin's hearing is going, or I've gotten a lot better. I was _never_ able to get into his lab without him noticing within thirty seconds."

Liara rolled her eyes and proceeded into the medbay to return the pilfered Krogan tissue sample. The black-clad thief stretched herself and hopped off of the table. Activating her omni-tool, Kasumi observed the many programs at work within Liara's network decoding and analyzing the data on the Crucible. She had to admit, there was _a lot_ of information to sort through, and not all of it was completely relevant to the task at hand. Still, after all this blows over, she would be able to make quite the fortune off of some of the data siphoned off of the vast stores Liara kept that she had access to, plus a few that she _shouldn't_ have access to.

"Well, isn't this a surprise. Shouldn't you be with Hackett's fleet, working on the Crucible?"

The familiar stern voice of her former Commander floated through the air. Kasumi turned to see Shepard make her way into the mess with an amused smirk on her face.

"Liara didn't tell you? I'm going to be using the Normandy as a temporary base for super-top-priority war-related operations, with your approval of course, Commander!"

Kasumi stood straight and saluted. They held each other's gazes for several seconds before they burst out laughing and sputtering.

"Ahaha! Please, don't _ever_ do that again!"

Jane said as she held a hand up to her mouth, a wide and laughing smile on her face. Kasumi lowered her saluting hand to hold her side.

"Hehehe, I don't think I will. Military protocol isn't exactly for me. But I'm serious. I want to be involved. Just wouldn't feel right, helping from a distance. At least not after working so closely with your suicide team."

Shepard smiled genuinely as she laid a hand on the shorter woman's shoulder.

"Kasumi, you realize I _tried_ to get you onto the Normandy back on the Citadel, right? Something about only Jacob bringing you back?"

The thief shrugged her shoulders.

"He's great eye-candy, but after thinking about it for a while, I'd decided that things would be a lot more interesting with your crew. They've certainly provided enough entertainment already."

"Damn it, who keeps moving my polish!?"

Another familiar voice shouted from the forward batteries. Kasumi looked beyond the separating wall in the mess hall to see an irate Garrus storm out of his door.

"Speaking of entertainment, looks like I'll be exiting, stage left. See you, Shep!"

The snickering thief faded away as her cloak activated. Jane shook her head and smiled as she walked out into the kitchen area of the mess, bronze hair bouncing in a loose pony tail.

"Shepard! Do you know who took my rifle polish? The damn thing keeps disappearing every time I turn around."

"Can't say I do. You sure you didn't leave it somewhere and forget?"

Garrus huffed and looked back to the forward battery.

"Give me some credit, I'm not _that_ old. Although it does always manage to pop up in my workspace…"

Jane laughed quietly as she looked to her side to see her Liara speaking with Eve and Karin within the medbay before shifting her eyes to Grunt. The former C-sec agent turned back toward his friend. It was then that Garrus noticed the slowly forming bags of dark skin underneath Jane's eyes and the tired frown on her lips. The hems of white bandages were visible underneath the collar of her officer jacket and behind the cuffs of her sleeves.

"How are you doing, Shepard?"

The question was asked softly, and Shepard knew her Turian friend wasn't looking for the usual morale booster she normally doled out. The bronze-haired Commander looked to Garrus, emerald eyes glimmering in the light of the mess hall before she looked back at the medbay.

"I've been better… I almost lost another friend today. Because… I couldn't make up my mind. I just acted… I should've thought before I…"

She felt a three-fingered hand on her shoulder.

"Jane… Grunt would have given his life gladly for yours. Want to know why?"

Speckled brown stared down into green.

"Same reason I would. Same reason _everyone_ on this ship would. I know it isn't exactly comforting to know so many would lay down their lives for you when you would want it to be the other way around, but it's true. You're our _Commander_. To the very end."

Shepard sighed and smiled, her own had coming up to grasp at his on her shoulder.

"What're you trying ta' do, Garrus? Make your C.O. cry on her own ship?"

Garrus' low voice reverberated off of the metal walls of the mess in a soft laugh.

"What kind of friend would I be if I couldn't make you shed some tears on occasion? Besides, if anyone saw you crying, maybe I'll get lucky and get put in charge since you technically made me second in command."

Shepard joined in his laughter. She wasn't sure if they would live through this war, but there wasn't a person she'd more readily trust with her life than this Turian. Aside from the owner of the hand that laid itself on her other shoulder from behind.

"And why are we crying, exactly?"

Jane grinned as she turned to meet sapphire eyes.

"Just a simple conversation between friends. Nothing to worry about."

"Uh-huh."

Liara said with a disbelieving smirk on her lips. Shepard rolled her eyes and pressed a peck onto a blue cheek.

"So I met your new "assistant" if she could even be called that."

It was Liara's turn to roll her eyes as she looked out to the mess hall, seeing several crewmen enter and sit at the tables.

"I caught her sneaking one of Mordin's tissue samples out of the medbay."

Jane chuckled quietly as she shook her head, bronze pony tail swishing playfully at the back of her scalp.

"She never could keep her hands to herself."

"I'm sorry; who are we referring to here?"

Jane looked amusedly at the armored Turian.

"You should know, Garrus. She did always have a habit of _misplacing_ things."

She said with a pointed look to the forward batteries beyond the sleep pods. Garrus' eyes widened in shock as he realized who had been messing with his equipment.

" _ **Kasumi**_!"

* * *

"Should you be worried about that?"

Alexis asked as she looked up from the data pad in her hands. Kasumi laid herself out on the opposite couch next to the window in the port observation lounge.

"Nah, Garrus is too big of a softie to actually do anything. Besides, he'll find his polish soon enough. Hid it in the little compartment underneath his work bench this time. I'd say he'll take… thirty minutes to find it."

Kane snorted as she looked back to her data pad.

"You give him too little credit. The man's got the eyes of a hawk. I'd give him ten. At _most_."

"You weren't serving with him six months ago. Once, I hid this new thermal scope he got in the overhead bin just above the cannon. Took him _three_ hours to finally get it. He was actually pretty upset about it because it was a gift. Had I known, I would've hid one of his barrels or tools or something."

A dark blonde eyebrow raised itself.

"A gift? From who?"

Kasumi smirked as she looked out of the window to the endless abyss of stars before them.

"His little sweetheart… I wonder what Tali's doing now. We haven't heard anything from the Far Rim or the Perseus Veil. Hope she's alright."

The thief's statement made certain thoughts trigger within the Kane's mind.

"Speaking of recent news… have you heard anything from the Arcturus Stream."

Kasumi's eyes lowered to her lap as she sighed.

"No… I haven't."

Kane dropped the data pad onto the coffee table between them and brought a hand up to her temple, rubbing softly as a pained expression washed over her face. Kasumi looked worriedly at her friend.

"Aka…"

"No."

"It's been too long. You'd think-"

"No!"

The Major General raised her voice as she hunched herself over and locked her hands around each other, wringing them tightly.

"She's stronger than that… I _know_ Hannah. I've known her since I was _fucking nine years_ old! She wouldn't just sit and wait to be blown to pieces."

The cushion beneath her dipped as the thief sat beside her. Kasumi always had a habit of making her movements completely undetectable. Whether she was conscious of it or not was a complete mystery.

"… I'll keep some contacts in the quadrant. They'll keep me updated as best as they can…"

The thief looked in sympathy to Alexis. This woman had taught her many things, from the bread and butter tools of espionage to taking out an entire room of soldiers with just a knife and her cloak. Seeing the Major General in such a state reminded Kasumi of her own depression after Keiji's death. She knew what that gaping pit was like. It wasn't something she'd wish on her worst enemies. And Alexis had been closer to her own mentor than Kasumi and her late lover could have _ever_ been.

The thief brought her hands up to the hem of her black hood. Pulling the soft material down revealed a short, neatly trimmed bob as dark as the hood that normally covered her head. Light almond colored eyes stared at the side of Kane's head as a gloved hand came up to rub at her back, smoothing gentle circles through the dark blue officer uniform.

"You know her… but _I_ know _you_. You can't let yourself drown in the past. Not now. Not with everything going on. I know _you're_ stronger than that."

Kane sniffed and brought her eyes up to the window across the room, a small smile on her lips.

"You've been a good friend to me… done a lot of things for me that I'm appreciative of these past few years. I'm happy to have you by my side, Kas. Especially now."

Kasumi couldn't help but giggle as she patted the Major General's back lightly.

"Hehe, there's no way I'd sit this out in some lab just analyzing a piece of data or getting equipment in for the Crucible. I have my own teams for that."

Alexis smiled and stood from her seat, stretching herself slightly. The thief couldn't help but appreciate the way the uniform tightened around Kane's strong form.

"Little bird's all grown up now, I suppose. Well, apparently we're headed for the Citadel. Coordinate with your contacts as best you can. As far as I know, we'll be en route for Tuchanka soon. And things are going to get a lot worse before they're gonna get better."

Kasumi stood next to the Major General and gave a salute.

"Yes, ma'am!"

Alexis gave a deadpan stare at the thief as a small grin tugged at a partially tattooed mouth.

"… Don't do that again. It's _frightening_ how much it doesn't suit you."

Kasumi's face split into a smile as she pulled her hood back up and activated her cloak, fading out of sight as she walked through the door to the crew deck hallway. Alexis was left in silence inside the port observation lounge, staring out into space through the large window. After several moments, she sighed and moved to close the bulkhead.

 _You'd better be alive…_


	23. Assistance

**Disclaimer: Most of the characters and all of the locations, technologies, concepts, etc that appear in this story are property of Bioware/EA.**

* * *

 **This is War**

Ashley's back slammed into the floor, cushioned by the blue mat padding that covered the majority of the gym's flooring. The Lieutenant-Commander panted slightly, a light sweat on her exposed shoulders. Wiping the dark hair from her forehead, Ash looked up to see a green, scaled hand reach down. A smile graced her mostly healed face as she took it, allowing the Drell to hoist her up to her feet.

"Hah… you're pretty good for a man who's apparently on his last legs."

Former professional hit-man Thane Krios chuckled quietly, his deep, raspy voice echoing off of the walls of the hospital gymnasium.

"A candle shines its brightest when it is about to go out. I am glad to help you regain your brightness before mine extinguishes."

Ashley smiled at the Drell as she retrieved a towel from the nearby rest bench, wiping it along the back of her neck below the tight bun of dark hair on her head.

"Well, let's hope it doesn't go out before I can put you on your ass as many times as you've put me on mine. C'mon, best five out of eight!"

Thane laughed quietly again and eased himself into position, feeling the familiar muscles in his arms and chest springing to life. Ash tossed the towel aside and brought her hands up, palms ready to grasp and grapple. Thane was truly an excellent sparring partner as far as the Lieutenant-Commander was concerned. He had taught her many holds and positions during their time within Huerta Memorial. She was still trying to remember the proper form for a Turian choke hold and she was more than sure she wasn't flexible enough for the Krogan take down technique he had showed her.

Grabbing the back of his head and arm, Ashley attempted to gain leverage by stepping between his legs and throw him off balance. That is, until the former assassin managed to rip her arm from his head, holding it between his torso and arm. Twisting his body, Thane brought himself around to Ash's front, holding her arm over his shoulder and easily lifted her up. In an instant, Ashley found herself on the padded floor again with her arm between Thane's legs in an armbar position. Slapping the mat beneath them several times with her other hand, the Lieutenant-Commander's arm was released. Ashley grinned as she lifted herself off of the floor.

"Heh, are you sure you're dying? You're certainly sprightly enough to prove any doctor wrong."

Thane smiled at the former Gunnery-Chief.

"You adulate me. I am under no delusion about my condition, but your compliment is highly appreciated indeed. As one of Commander Shepard's original team members."

The grin fell from Ashley's face at the Commander's name. She expected a visit from her former C.O. soon.

"I'm… not anything special. Just a soldier. She's the real star in this show."

"On the contrary. During my stay aboard the Normandy, the Commander sang your praises whenever prompted about her mission against the rouge SPECTER before the original Normandy's destruction. She says you were an invaluable asset for protective and suppressive fire support. And one of her closest personal friends."

Ashley blinked in surprise for several moments.

"She said that about me…?"

"It's the truth, Chief."

Ash's brow rose as she whirled around to see the familiar shock of bronze hair and emerald eyes across the gymnasium, alongside sapphire eyes and blue skin. Jane and Liara made their way to the Lieutenant-Commander and Thane where they stood on the blue padded mats.

"Shepard! I… didn't expect you so soon."

The Commander grinned as she looked at her former Gunnery-Chief.

"We had to drop off a pretty big package at the hospital. Figured we'd see how you're doing since we were in the neighborhood."

The Drell shot a knowing smirk at Jane.

"I'll assume Grunt is fine."

"He will be making a full recovery quickly, as per usual."

Liara replied to Thane. The former assassin's smile spread wider across his face.

"Good. I wouldn't expect anything less."

His omni-tool beeped loudly with an incoming message. Lifting his arm and activating the holographic device, Thane's smile could only grow as he read the text before him.

"I'm afraid I must take my leave. My son is waiting for me up within the hospital. Good day."

Thane bowed respectfully to his former Commander, Doctor T'soni and Ashley before making his way to the elevator across the gym that led up into Huerta Memorial proper. Hearing the door to the elevator slide closed, Jane turned to the Lieutenant-Commander.

"So, Chief, we got your message. SPECTRE, huh?"

Williams nodded silently as she made her way over to the bench beside them, grabbing a plastic bottle of water.

"Yeah… Udina is finalizing the details for the induction right now."

She said as she unscrewed the cap of the bottle and took a swig. Liara's brows knitted together at Ashley's answer.

"You don't seem very happy about it."

The Lieutenant-Commander scowled and took another drink.

"I'm just… skeptical. I realize that we need more elites in this war but… why me?"

Jane smirked and crossed her arms.

"Maybe because you deserve it? Farfetched idea, I know."

Ashley laughed as she placed the cap back onto the bottle, dropping it back down to the bag of clothing below the bench. That was another thing she missed. That sarcastic attitude that revealed itself seemingly at random, yet she knew it only reared its head for those that Shepard considered herself close to. Ash shook her head with a disbelieving smile etched onto her face.

"The last thing I did was nearly get myself killed after questioning my commanding officer. I don't know what the Council considers as SPECTRE material, but I'm pretty sure those don't make the cut."

Liara stepped forward, a warm and appreciative beam gracing her blue lips.

"I seem to remember the last thing you doing was valiantly protecting me from harm after displaying a critically thinking mind open to ideas that a lesser soldier wouldn't think twice about."

"Liara…"

"She's right."

Jane said as she walked closer to Ashley, emerald eyes glimmering in the bright lighting of the gym around them.

"Shepard, what I-"

" _Ash_ , we've been through this already. I don't blame you. We were both upset and hurting. You were in a position where you were forced to choose between what you felt in your gut and what your eyes were seeing before you. There's _nothing_ you have to be ashamed of. You are, without a doubt, one of the _best_ soldiers I know. And not just in combat, either."

Shepard brought a hand up to lay it atop an olive colored shoulder.

"I can't think of a more worthy candidate to join the SPECTRES."

Williams _had_ to look away from those eyes. How was it that all her years of composure, all her training, all of the poise and control she had maintained while carrying the weight of her family's name simply _vanish_ when those eyes looked at her with such an intense gaze? It was maddening.

"That… that means a lot… coming from you…"

Jane smile fell from her face when her squadmate turned from her grasp. Ash stalked over to the nearby window installed in the gymnasium that gave a view of the Presidium. She watched as the skycars flew by at break-neck speeds, a wrenching feeling welling up within her gut.

"Ash…?"

"There's something I need to tell you."

There was a slight waver in her normally steady voice. The Lieutenant-Commander looked back to the duo, eyes trained on a blue face.

"Liara, I'm not sure if you want to-"

"Go on, Ashley. Please."

Liara said with the most tender and knowing smile she had seen her give. Ash mentally kicked herself. Of _course_ she knew. The former archaeologist had always been adept at observation, much more so than she normally led on. Williams took a deep breath and turned fully to view her Commander, face set in a hard stare as she attempted to keep her emotions in order.

"I'm… not quite sure how I can say this. But I _need_ to, if only to finally get it off my chest. I… I like you. I _have_ liked you in a romantic way for… god knows how long now. I admired you, hell, I _idolized_ you ever since I read about Elysium. Actually meeting you, having you _save_ me on Eden Prime… I shouldn't be surprised how my feelings for you developed. You were _more_ than our Commander… more than _my_ Commander…"

Ashley's head lowered itself, eyes trained on the padded floor beneath her bare feet.

"I know you're already _in_ a relationship, and the _last_ thing I want is to come between you and Liara, but I _needed_ to say how I felt. I would've gone crazy, otherwise. Bottling everything up. As ironic as it is… you're actually the first person I've admitted it to."

The silence of the empty hospital gym around them made the beating of Williams' heart in her own ears all the more irritatingly loud.

"So… I guess that's it…"

She felt her face heat up as embarrassment washed over her. She didn't dare look up from the floor. How would Jane react? Would she shun Ashley? Forbid her from returning to the Normandy? A plethora of worst-case scenarios flew through her mind as she continued to stare at the floor so hard that she wouldn't be surprised if her gaze burned holes in the padded blue material.

After a few (excruciatingly) long moments, Ashley felt a hand upon her bare shoulder again, a warm thumb rubbing soft circles into the tanned skin. She slowly lifted her head and allowed her chocolate eyes to meet emerald. What she found within her commanding officer's eyes made her knees weak.

"It takes guts to come clean like that after holding it inside for so long."

That kindhearted voice floated into her ears, warm enough to match the look in Jane's eyes. After another second, the red-head's other arm came up to wrap around Ash's shoulder, pulling her in for a gentle embrace.

"I can't be what you wanted me to be. But believe me when I say, from the bottom of my heart that it flatters me to hear that from you. It's… humbling."

"W-what? Humbling?"

Jane grinned and pulled back slightly to look at the Lieutenant-Commander.

" _Anyone_ would be humbled compared to you. Have you looked in a mirror, lately?"

Williams' cheeks lit up in a charming pink hue at the unexpected compliment.

"You _are_ very attractive, Ashley."

Liara said with an amused smirk. Ash was flabbergasted at the levity the couple displayed at her confession. It felt as if a weight had been taken off of her shoulders as she laughed quietly.

"Hehe… I thought you'd- you'd be _mad_ …"

Shepard shook her head gently, bronze tresses swaying in front of her face.

"I've said it before, and I'll keep saying it until it gets through that thick head of yours."

She said with another tender smile as she tapped a finger against Ashley's temple.

"I _trust_ you, Williams. With my life."

"As do I."

Liara stated as she came forward, putting a gloved hand on Ashley's back. The Lieutenant-Commander chuckled as she looked down to the blue mats yet again with a small blush on her cheeks.

"Geez, guys. Don't make me cry now; I'm just getting back onto my feet."

The group shared a small laugh as Ash looked back up to Jane's emerald irises.

"Speaking of getting back on your feet: How's the head?"

Williams brought a hand to the back of her dark brown bun.

"Doctor Michelle said the swelling's virtually gone, no complications to speak of. Full recovery. They just want to run a few more neural scans to make sure I'm fit for duty."

Shepard nodded as her smile widened on her lips.

"Good! That's great ta' hear. Let's hope for the best, 'cause we need you, Ash. Things are ugly out there, and it just wouldn't feel right without you there to watch our backs."

Ashley looked appreciatively at her commanding officer. After all this time, she was still part of the team.

"Aye aye, ma'am."

* * *

Gunshots resounded throughout the shooting range as its sole occupant glared at the minimally damaged dummy target through cat-like, green eyes. Ankara glowered down at the Predator pistol in her left hand and ejected the spent thermal clip, sliding another one into place with her right and retracting the top to allow the next metal slug into the chamber. Taking aim again, the Turian High-Sergeant shot several more rounds; the pistol kicked in her hands and caused the bullets to veer off mark.

"Your stance could use some work."

Kassaran jumped at the voice before glaring at its owner. She watched as Garrus Vakarian made his way to the station next to her, drawing his own pistol.

"Spread your knees, brace your shoulders, hold your dominant hand straight and aim with your-"

"I _know_ how to shoot a gun, Vakarian."

The Archangel grinned as he shifted his eyes to the target at Ankara's station.

"You're great at hand-to-hand, I'll give you that. But your marksmanship isn't exactly something to brag about."

The cabal warrior rolled her eyes and ejected the spent thermal clip, grabbing hold of another one. Garrus squeezed off three shots from his weapon, each landing dead center within the target's head.

"I'll venture to guess that you're not just here to point out my shortcomings with a firearm?"

A low laugh bounced off of the walls of the shooting gallery.

"Oh, no. I'm here to get some practice in, myself. Gotta stay sharp if I wanna keep up with Shepard."

Ankara's glare deepened at the Commander's name. The grip on her pistol tightened as she managed to get a shot onto the target's chest. It was a small adjustment, but Garrus noticed it all the same.

"You know, I read up a bit about the Ankara familial line."

Another shot rang out; hitting the target's simulated shoulder on Kassaran's side.

"Standard Turian military family. Great grandparents, grandparents, mother, father, all served in the Hierarchy."

Garrus' target took another round in the head.

"If I'm not mistaken, you've had a family of your own."

The High-Sergeant's dummy target shook from another slug into its torso.

"Husband. Son. Daughter."

The Archangel's aim brought another bullet to his target's head.

"Met your husband at the military academy. He was studying to be a military journalist, taking the stories of soldiers going into battle. A proud profession, prioritizing remembrance and respect to the brave troops of the fleet."

Ankara's harsh glare softened at the thought of Tibetius. Another shot hit the white space of the board beside the central target.

"He was deployed to the five-oh-eighth regime, sent to the Petra Nebula, Vetus system. Little paradise planet called Elysium to document a joint assembly in cooperation with the Systems Alliance in the year twenty-one-seventy-six. Various trials and discussions went on during that time. Virtually no risk of combat scenarios."

Speckled brown eyes sighted down the irons on his pistol as the round hit its mark again.

" _Since_ there was no risk of combat, I would hazard a guess that since during that year you were under cabal training, he'd decided that it was a good idea to bring your son and daughter. A little field trip with dad."

Kassaran's eye twitched as she put another slug into the target's neck.

"Several weeks before the Skyllian Blitz."

The cabal warrior turned to her right to level her pistol at Garrus, an angry scowl set on her face like stone. Garrus looked down to the station before him and put the pistol down onto it. He turned fully to Kassaran and met her glare with his own hard gaze.

"You can't blame her for what happened. You weren't there to see-"

"Neither were you! Who are you to tell me who I can blame? I've lived with this for _ten_ _years_."

Garrus sighed and looked down at the Predator in her hands before bringing his eyes back up to hers.

"I lost my entire squad on Omega to a simple mistake. I have a father and sister on Palaven. I haven't heard from them since this whole thing started. There's no reason for me to believe they're alive when the Reapers are bringing our world to its knees. You're not the first to lose people close to you, and you _certainly_ won't be the last, but you need to get past your own problems."

"Oh spare me the empathetic _bullshit_! I don't need you to counsel me and I don't care about what you've lost to get here."

"And what _do_ you care about?"

Ankara's hand shook as she trained her aim at Garrus' face.

"The future. And what it entails."

The former C-sec officer scoffed as his stare turned into an amused sneer.

"I fail to see how that future will play out if you don't have it in you to forget your grief and move on."

Anger was plainly visible in swirling green eyes as Ankara practically _snarled_ at Garrus.

"My grief is my _own_! You've no right to say _anything_ about what's happened in my life and how it affects me-"

"I do when it's going to affect the _mission_! You put yourself ahead of your squad and things will _only_ turn out badly for you. You were trained better than this. Better than a petty _vendetta_."

Speckled brown eyes bore into swirling green for several intense moments before a gunshot broke the silence of the shooting range. Ankara lowered her weapon and holstered it, retrieving the thermal clips from the station and making her way out of the door behind where Garrus stood. The former C-sec agent released a breath as he looked to the target across from the shooting station the High-Sergeant was using. A freshly blackened spot stood out from the stark white outline surrounding the dummy target, less than an inch from the target's head.

* * *

"Pleased to meet you, Felicia!"

Jane smiled brightly at her former Yeoman as they stood in docking bay E26. The entire section of bays were currently being used as housing for refugees. Large cargo containers were stacked up around them and used as lodging for those unfortunate individuals and families who had lost their homes over the course of the war. To Jane's mounting dismay, there were more refugees populating the area since her last visit.

"Oh, please. _You_ can call me Kelly."

Former Normandy Yeoman and Psychologist Kelly Chambers said with a grin as she patted at her new hair style. Upon their last meeting, Jane had implored her to change her identity. Cerberus was ruthless and she knew from what she had seen on Grissom Academy and her brief run-in with her former executive officer that the Illusive Man didn't tolerate deserters. After much urging, Kelly had acquiesced and was now standing before Shepard as Felicia Hannigan.

Jane laughed as she took in the newly blonde-headed woman. Even though she knew Kelly was working with the refugees to ease their stress, she was curious as to why the Psychologist was currently alone.

"Where's Samara? I'd figured with everything going on, you'd want to stay together."

The joyful smile fell from Kelly's face at the Justicar's name. Shepard knew that Kelly and Samara had been an item aboard the Normandy for a time during their mission against the Collectors.

"She's been called back to the Athena Nebula. I… wish I knew what she was doing but Asari Command withheld information until she'd returned to Asari space."

Kelly's crestfallen face made Shepard's own heart sink as she came over to lay a hand on the blonde's shoulder.

"If I know Samara, she'll be more than alright. You'll see her again."

The former red-head's eyes perked up and she smiled softly at the reassurance. Jane silently hoped that the Justicar would be fine as well. Samara had been one of her closest friends, a mentor, even. Samara was the type of woman that made even Shepard want to measure up to.

"I hope so. Anyway, I shouldn't keep you any longer; I know you probably have your own problems to worry about."

Shepard nodded, bronze hair bouncing as she stepped away from Kelly. Before she could reply, the former Yeoman let out a sudden 'Oh' and activated her omni-tool.

"I _completely_ forgot! I should've done this the last time we talked, I'm sorry! I still have your fish! After we came back to the Sol system and the Normandy got impounded, I snuck them out with me before we left. I'll have them brought back aboard, if you want."

Jane beamed at the Psychologist and brought her in for a tight hug.

"I was wondering what happened to them! I was going ta' get some new ones before we shipped out again. Thanks, Kelly, really."

The former Yeoman's face flushed with red at the sudden embrace, but quickly recovered herself and brought her arms around Jane, squeezing gently.

"Ehehe, don't worry about it. Just don't forget to feed them, I know your habits!"

The Commander gasped in mock offense as she retreated from the hug, placing a hand at her breast.

"Why, I'd never! I'll have you know that I take very _good_ care of my pets, Miss Hannigan!"

Kelly giggled loudly before smiling again at her former commanding officer.

"I also know how much trouble _you_ get up to. I want you to make sure you take care of _yourself_ as well. So whatever you're doing, I want to know I'll be able to see you again after all this. Okay?"

Jane smiled brightly at Kelly's concern and nodded.

"I'm not just fighting this war for everyone else. I'm fighting for _me_ as well. Besides, I already died once and all it did was slow me down."

The Psychologist laughed and pushed Jane's shoulder playfully. After a moment, Kelly's mirth died down as she leveled a more serious gaze at Shepard.

"Be careful out there."

Emerald pools bore into sea-foam green. The Commander nodded again curtly, a small but solemn smile on her lips.

"Aye aye, ma'am."


	24. Recall

**Disclaimer: Most of the characters and all of the locations, technologies, concepts, etc that appear in this story are property of Bioware/EA.**

* * *

 **This is War**

The rushing water tapered off from the shower head as the flow above her stopped. Shepard's toned form dripped as she stepped out of the shower area, grabbing a towel from the nearby rack and quickly drying herself off. The Normandy was on course for the Krogan Demilitarized Zone. They would be on Tuchanka within two hours. Jane still felt a twinge of anger within her at Primarch Victus' reluctance in divulging any information about this supposed "matter of galactic peace" beyond the coordinates of the downed Turian vessel. If they couldn't trust one another then galactic peace won't mean a damn thing after the Reapers are done with them.

The Commander took the towel to the wet mop of crimson hair on her head, rubbing at the locks wildly. She stood in front of the mirror within the private bathroom, running the fluffy white towel along her collar and down her front. She had to hand it to Cerberus, the Lazarus project had sped up her recovery rate almost five-fold that of a normal Human. Within just a few hours, the wounds and burns she had received on Utukku were already faded, and scar tissue settled on her freckled skin.

Jane knew she'd already thanked her former X.O. Miranda Lawson for what she had done for her, but she hoped to see the ex-Cerberus agent again. Their last meeting on the Citadel felt much too rushed for her liking, but Shepard knew that the dark haired sentinel's sister was at the forefront of her worries.

Miranda's disquiet over Oriana reminded Jane of her own familial concerns. There was still no confirmation on Rear-Admiral Hannah Shepard's whereabouts after Arcturus' destruction. It was, perhaps, too much to hope for, but maybe Hackett was right. Her mother could be somewhere without proper quantum entanglement communications –goodness knows, the comm buoy system was in a state of complete and utter disarray- and was trying to reconnect to the fleet. There were still ships coming from all over the galaxy that were thought to be destroyed by the Reapers when comms couldn't be established.

Despite her… strained relationship with her mother during her early years, Shepard desperately hoped she was alive. Hoped that the woman who had inspired her to join the Navy in the first place was still out there.

The thought of her mother sent a lance of pain through her skull, sight hazing as she immediately stopped drying herself.

Emerald green eyes caught themselves in the mirror and she couldn't help but stare for several seconds. Shepard hunched over the sink below and leveled a hard stare into the reflection before her. With a blink, the bathroom around her was gone, replaced by a landscape that was both familiar and foreign.

 _Shepard_ …

Dark trees stretched up to touch the cloudy, gray sky above. Jane turned, wrapping the towel around her body as she looked out at the dark fog that blanketed the area. Where was she?

 _Shepard…_

 _When are you going to leave me alone…?_

She knew her question would go unanswered. She knew this place only offered madness and contempt. Yet, something was wrong. No shadows appeared before her. No faces emerged from the darkness to taunt her, to insult her. The land looked different… blurry, unfocused. As if she were looking through glasses that had been dipped in grease. The ground beneath her feet warped and shifted as the pain within her head worsened.

Holding a hand to damp bronze hair, Jane grimaced as she tried to regain control of her sight. After several moments, dark spots in her vision blinked away as the land seemed to change around her. The ground beneath her seemed to congeal into something more solid, firmly packed. Buildings were set before her, rising into the sky and smoking with internal fires. Pavement was several meters ahead of her, _littered_ with burned bodies. Bodies with Human skeletal structures.

A slight movement caught her attention. Her head snapped to the left, watching as a unit of soldiers made their way down the bloodied street.

 _A Turian platoon…?_

The squad looked to be surveying the street, spread out in a wide formation. They were combing the area, looking for something. But why? Why was she seeing this? Where was she?

The clear and distinct sound of a ship's thrusters boomed above her. Enormous Turian military frigates hovered overhead. They seemed to look… older than the current models that she was more familiar with.

 _C'mon! You're okay!_

A small voice echoed within her head. It sounded like a young girl. Jane looked around behind her before spotting movement within the base of the ruined building before her. Approaching the rubble and kneeling down, Shepard strained her eyes to look inside. Not much was visible in the low light of the room below aside from two small bodies.

 _You're alright… I've got you._

They looked to be children. One was crouched on the ground with her back to Jane. Her clothes were dirty and bloodied while her blonde hair was messy and matted to her head. She looked no older than ten years old.

 _I promised… you're gonna be okay!_

Jane felt her heart crack as she noticed the even tinier body that she was huddled over. The pain in her head began to intensify as she tried to get a better look at the second occupant of the dark room. They seemed to be even younger than the blonde girl, only four or five years old. They were simply lying motionless on the ground. A pool of what Shepard assumed to be blood was around their head.

Pure, unbridled _pain_ rimmed her skull, yet she couldn't pull her eyes away. Who was that? She had to know. She _needed_ to know. A loud explosion erupted above her and Jane looked up to see the Turian frigate break apart and disintegrate. What was happening?

She looked back down to the room where she saw the blonde girl holding the younger child to her.

 _I promise! I won't let anything bad happen to you!_

It was only now that Jane noticed that the pool of red around the other child's head wasn't just blood. It was their hair.

 _ **I promise!**_

The Commander blinked again and suddenly the pain within her head was gone. The strange place around her disappeared with it as she stood hunched over the sink within the private bathroom of the captain's cabin on the SSV Normandy SR2.

Jane stared into her reflection, brows knit in confusion. Where was that city she'd seen, and why was the Turian military present? She wasn't even sure if it was a dream or something else. Shepard didn't consider herself a superstitious woman, even when she had received the vision from the Prothean beacon on Eden Prime more than two years ago. But even so, something didn't seem right. Those children she saw…

Shepard shook her head. Could it have been a hallucination? Maybe she was simply under too much stress. Either way, it would be of no benefit to anyone if she lost herself within dreams and visions. Wrapping the towel around herself, Jane exited the private bathroom, shivering at the sudden burst of cool air within her cabin.

* * *

"Mutagen strain complete. No signs of rejection from testing tissue. Cellular dispersal and linking vectors fully functional. No degradation from transmission to other tissues… expulsion of genophage structures complete and thorough."

Padok Wiks smiled as he looked to his colleague at the station next to his.

"This is it."

Mordin nodded his head, an unreadable expression on his thin face.

"… Yes."

He held up the vial in his hand. This tiny piece of sealed glass held the salvation of an _entire_ race.

"Is it done…?"

Eve asked with a low voice as she sat on the medical bed. Mordin turned and held the vial carefully.

"Will need proper transmission vector for cure dispersal. Have idea, but requires full attention of Shepard's team. Preparing for deployment at present. Can discuss after completion of current mission."

"My people don't have time for that! We need a way to –cough- to –cough cough-!"

Mordin quickly crossed the room, handing the vial to Wiks as he brought forth another syringe.

"Events already in motion. _Will_ be time for formulation of plans for dispersal amongst Krogan population. Still need to properly bolster and stimulate immune system for survival against infection."

Eve grunted irritably as Mordin gently injected the needle into her arm.

"I don't care about what happens to me! As long as this cure gets to my people-"

" _I_ care."

The shaman's head reared back from the firm voice resounding throughout the medbay. Mordin looked up to her, eyes brimming with determination.

"Without proper Krogan leaders, clans will disperse again and cycle of violence will continue. Urdnot Wrex can stem tide for limited time, but not indefinitely."

Eve quickly caught on as she blinked down at the Salarian Scientist.

"You're suggesting I become some kind of… political leader? I'm a shaman, a keeper of knowledge and history for my people."

" _Yes_. Wisdom of ancients sorely needed to truly unite Krogan. Progenitor of cure _perfect_ for role. Good match for Urdnot Wrex's command over clans."

The robed Krogan looked at Mordin for several moments before she sighed and shook her head, sandy-red eyes turning downward to the steel floor.

"As much as I detest the idea of his inflated ego becoming even bigger, you have a point. Ultimately, the other clans will look to him for guidance, but there will always be rouge factions. More leadership will moderate discontent parties."

Padok smiled as he gingerly placed the cure vial on the small metal holding rack.

"Your people need the guidance of the insight your ancestors held. I can't think of a better candidate than an experienced shaman."

Eve scoffed as she rubbed at the injection site.

"If you're trying to make me blush, you're going to have a hard time."

The Salarian Captain laughed quietly while Mordin disposed of the syringe and began another medical scan with his omni-tool before returning to his work space. Now that a cure was ready and waiting, they would be able to secure the alliance between the Krogan and Turian races, forming a force to be reckoned with, and one that will challenge the Reapers at every turn. The Doctor smiled down at the cure strain within the vial at his station. This _tiny_ piece of glass would not only be the catalyst for the genetic freedom of the Krogan. It would be _more_ than the cure to the genophage. It would be his legacy. His atonement. The Doctor who killed millions… but saved _billions_ more.

Mordin chuckled and began typing on the holographic interface beside him. It would make a good subtitle for a biography, once this was all over with.

* * *

"Damn it, girl! How're you not cheatin'?"

The thick Scottish accent bounced off of the walls of the engineering deck as Engineer Kenneth Donnelly slapped his cards down onto the metal floor. His coworker, Engineer Gabriella Daniels, and Kasumi Goto sat across from him and laughed as several hundred credits were deposited to Kasumi's omni-tool.

"Cheating is practically my _job_! But it looks like even a straight up game is too much for you, hehe."

Ken glowered as he gathered the cards and shuffled the deck again.

"Maybe I can hire you just to mess with him when he least expects it, just like old times."

"Technically, I am still a private contractor."

Kasumi grinned as her cards were slid across the smooth, metal flooring.

"You're evil, I swear it."

Gabby waved her hand as she dismissed the glare shot in her direction.

"Please. You love me."

The ginger-haired engineer shook his head with a small smile on his face. The door directly behind him slid open.

"So _you're_ the one who's been rearranging my equipment behind my back."

The strict voice said as Ken and Gabby quickly rose up to salute their superior. Kasumi chuckled quietly as she stood as well.

"Word gets around, I suppose. Kasumi Goto, temporary Alliance associate in all things sneaky and secretive."

The thief said with a bright smile as she held up her hand in greeting. Engineer Adams looked at her for several seconds before grinning and taking her hand, shaking firmly.

"I've heard good things about your tech expertise as well. I'm appreciative of your support but if I find another heating rod in my locker, I'm not going to be happy."

Kasumi giggled as she nodded her head.

"Just trying to liven things up around here."

Gregory smiled at the shorter woman before looking past her to view his two subordinates and the playing cards at their feet. He gave an expectant expression to Kenneth.

"Err, we were just, um, letting off a bit of stress before the mission…?"

Gabriella quickly nodded.

"Yeah! Who knows if what we'll run into? Krogan space could be swarming with Reapers, need to be at our best!"

Adams shook his head and moved to his station.

"Just clean all that up, I want reports on the drive core within the next two minutes."

"Aye aye!"

They both said as the duo began picking the cards up off of the floor.

'Kasumi! Ready up, we're approacing the Krogan D.M.Z. Arrival time is sixty minutes.'

Shepard's voice rang out around them through the intercom. The black-clad thief grinned as she turned to the engineering team.

"Looks like I'm up. I'll see you two later, and I expect some better plays from you, Ken! All that talk had better not be for nothing."

Kasumi laughed as her cloak activated, phasing out of sight as she moved through the door. The bearded engineer rolled his eyes as he and Gabriella returned to their stations. Gabby turned to her best friend, a soft smile on her face.

"It's nice that folks around here don't forget about the grease monkeys down below, huh?"

Ken returned her smile.

"That it is, love."

"Reports! Now!"

The duo jumped at the sudden bark and began weaving their fingers across the interfaces on their respective terminals.


	25. Tease

**Disclaimer: Most of the characters and all of the locations, technologies, concepts, etc that appear in this story are property of Bioware/EA.**

 **Warning: This chapter contains a relatively explicit sexual encounter between a Human female and a slightly not so Human female. If this bothers you, please feel free to skip this chapter in its entirety.**

* * *

 **This is War**

"Shepard? May I speak with you?"

Liara said as she approached her Commander in the mess hall. They were nearly half an hour away from the Krogan D.M.Z. Jane looked up from the conversation she'd been having with one of her crewmembers. The red-head was anxious about what they would find at the Turian crash site on the Krogan homeworld. It didn't make sense that a Turian frigate was even _in_ the demilitarized zone at a time like this. The resulting stress of the situation had led to her procurement of one of Doctor Chakwas' tea packages that currently sat within the mug of steaming water in her hands.

Still, despite her worry over the situation, the sight of her lover was more than enough to make a smile spread across her lips and a torrent of warmth fill her stomach that wasn't just from the tea.

"Of course. There's time before the next mission, but you know I always have time for you."

It surprised Liara how well she was used to suppressing the embarrassing purple color from creeping up her neck and painting her cheeks. Two and a half years ago, that simple comment would lead to Liara crumbling into a blushing mess. Even now, that beautiful face beaming up at her was enough to make her legs 'jelly' where she stood (another Human expression that she didn't quite understand until she saw the food product it was associated with). However, Liara held firm under that emerald gaze she loved so much.

"I'd like to speak in private, if you'd allow…"

Liara shot a glance at the crew mates currently populating the mess, chatting amongst themselves. A dark red brow rose up as Jane lifted herself from her seat, cup in hand.

"Something wrong?"

The Shadow Broker took her lover's unoccupied hand and led her through the mess hall, toward the Normandy's central elevator.

"Liara, what's going on? I'm getting a little weirded-out now."

Liara remained silent as she dragged her Commander past the elevator and into the women's communal bathroom.

"Liara! Would you-!"

Jane couldn't finish her sentence as she was pushed into the metal wall beside her. The cup of tea dropped from her hand to clatter onto the ground. Before the red-head could say a word, blue lips had already stolen her breath in a wholly unexpected kiss. She tried to keep up, tried to match the surprising passion and raw need that practically _poured_ off of her lover, but she would be destined to be swept up in the storm. They parted for but a moment before Liara claimed her Jane's lips again, snaking a violet tongue into the Commander's mouth. Shepard's eyes flew open at the sudden intrusion and the look she found within sapphire blue pools was enough to make her _melt_.

Liara completely _dominated_ the kiss. Gloved hands made their way up and down Jane's uniformed body, hastily undoing buttons on her jacket as blue biotic tendrils weaved their way into the air to gently lick and caress at the red-head, leaving trails of goose bumps in their wake through the navy blue fabric she wore. The snapping of buttons filled the air alongside the soft noises of lip upon lip. Shepard felt familiar hands reach into her jacket and underneath her black tank to stroke and caress at her toned abdominals. Liara couldn't help but smirk into their kiss as she felt the hard muscle tissue jump and flex at her touch. The wisps of biotics moved to aid in her hands' exploration, making twisting paths beneath her tank top and embracing Jane in warmth.

The freckled Commander could feel her lover's mind at the doorstep of her own consciousness, gently poking and prodding but staying at a distance after each tender brush, never fully embracing. It was _mind_ _numbing_. Feeling Liara at the very edge of herself, reaching out to grasp at the former archaeologist's mind, yet finding her Liara drawing away only to come close again and repeat the process. It wasn't what she was used to, and after a few moments of the torturous treatment, it made Jane want to take the Asari in her arms, pin her to the ground and _fuck_ her until neither of them could stand straight anymore.

As enticing as the thought was, she remembered one _incredibly_ important piece of information. Jane tore her mouth away from those _infuriatingly_ soft lips to rasp out a silent plea.

"L-Liara! We're in the _public_ bathroom!"

Those lips only pulled into a wider smirk as they found a lightly freckled throat.

"I know."

What kind of response was that?

" _Anyone_ could walk in!"

Petite, gloved hands found their way to the buckle that held the belt on her pants tight around Jane's waist. With one swift movement, it was unlatched and Shepard found her trousers around her ankles.

"Yes. Exciting, isn't it?"

What had brought this on? Jane had many fond memories of their time aboard the Normandy SR1, squeezing into a storage closet or finding a secluded corner late during the ship's night cycle, but all those times it was she who had initiated the encounter. And they were always during times when she knew the crew wouldn't happen upon them mid-session. But right now, a good majority of the crew was _right outside_ in the mess!

" _A-anyone_ could hear…"

The Commander said in a hushed tone, suddenly conscious of exactly how _vulnerable_ she was in Liara's hands at the moment. One of said hands made their way down her taut stomach and into the polyester boxer-briefs she wore. When had she taken off the glove?

"Then you'll have to be very _quiet_."

Shepard felt her lover's hand rest against her pelvis, idly stroking at the fine curls growing just above her already burning womanhood. Liara had always been fascinated by just how much body hair Humans had, where as an Asari like herself had none despite some obvious similarities the two species had. According to a bit of research she had read, biologically, heavy coats of body hair had been an evolutionary step in ancestral Humans to guard against temperature changes and regulate body heat. Many theories suggest differing uses of the tiny keratin follicles that now adorned most Humans, ranging from spatial awareness and orientation to the retention of pheromones. Two and a half years ago, Liara would often find her hands fiddling with the incredibly fine, nearly invisible strands of hair along her arms and legs and the mop of bronze on her head. The tactile feel they had on the Asari's fingers always made a delighted smile stretch her lips. She would need to continue this past-time favorite activity of hers.

Liara gently toyed with the small patch of fiery hair as she listened to her Jane's breathing pick up.

"Nnngh!"

A small whine escaped Jane's lips as she tried bucking her hips upward, tried to gain even the smallest bit of friction against her core. Her efforts were in vain as the wisps of blue biotics gently held her in place while Liara's hand continued to stroke and pet at her pelvis. A violet tongue came forth to lap at Shepard's throat, forcing another groan from the woman, before moving downward to begin lavishing moist affection upon an exposed collar bone.

" _Quiet_ …"

Jane brought a hand up to cover her mouth before another moan escaped her throat as she felt that _wonderfully_ warm hand cup her intimately beneath her underwear. Liara's biotics released her and her hips instantly lifted themselves to grind into the blue hand as it began a slow massage. Liara smiled as she felt liquid heat on her palm already.

" _You're so wet…_ "

Jane felt herself shudder at the low, husky tone Liara's voice took. Another miraculously ungloved hand felt its way upwards on her torso, pulling the tank top up with it.

"How does it feel…?"

Liara whispered as she ground her hand into her lover's molten core, feeling that small bud of flesh throb against her palm.

" _Liara_ …"

"Say it _right_ …"

A particularly rough stroke against her forced Jane's eyelids open wide as a quivering moan escaped her beneath her hand.

"Aah…! It… _shit_ , Liara… It feels good…"

A breathy laugh quietly bounced around the steel walls of the bathroom as Jane felt her bra being pushed upward, allowing her bust to fall freely and touch the heated air between the couple's bodies. The Commander jumped at the sensation of coils of dark energy gliding smoothly over her exposed skin. Their touch was _electric_ on her breasts, sending shivers up and down her spine as Liara's fingers began playing upon the fleshy outer lips of her sex, dipping into the moistened folds yet not fully penetrating into the warm, wet depths within. The Shadow Broker's mind kept up with the utterly _agonizing_ game of touch-and-go with her lover. Shepard's mouth fell open as her arms came to wrap around the Asari's shoulders.

"Do you want me to fuck you?"

"Mmmh!"

Jane's response was lost as her teeth caught a pink lip, swollen from their prior make-out. Liara playfully giggled as she brought a free hand around to grope wantonly at her Commander's muscular behind underneath her black boxer-briefs.

"Do you want me to fuck your _pussy_ …?"

The word sounded so foreign on Liara's lips. She had wanted to learn proper 'dirty talk' after their first few sessions in bed. After several embarrassing ordeals and some proper 'lessons' on the matter, the former archaeologist had the basics down well enough.

" _Yes_ …"

"You're absolutely _drenched_ …"

Jane grinned weakly as she buried her face in the fabric of Liara's white coat, inhaling the soft scent of lilac and catching a curious hint of honey that she somehow didn't pick up on until now.

"And… who's fault do you think thaa-aaahh!"

Jane felt a thumb run over her aching button and her reply erupted into a wail that she was _sure_ was heard by everyone on the entire ship.

" _Mine._ "

 _Dear lord_ , when did it get so unbearably _hot_ in the bathroom they occupied? Liara had normally been the one to fall into step as the Commander took the lead, but the few times where the Asari would take the reins of a session were just as gloriously pleasant, if not _more so_. Having her kind and gentle archaeologist push her up against the wall like this and simply _take_ her sent a thrill of passion through Shepard's body, heat pooling down below her pelvis where soft blue fingers toyed with her sex in ways that made her head go _blank_.

"How badly do you want it?"

Another rough stroke made Jane's hips buck upwards into the warm hand assaulting her. The hand that had been grabbing at her posterior ran upward on her spine, silently buzzing with dark energy that left prickled skin in its wake.

"Please… Liara…!"

"How badly do you want me to fuck this _naughty, sopping wet_ pussy?"

The hand that had been playing along the outer flesh of her womanhood suddenly lit up with blue biotics in the same way as the one running up and down her back. Jane's head reared backward as she tried suppressing a cry of ecstasy, forcing only a high-pitched whine to release from her throat through clenched teeth.

"Please…! _F-fuck me_ …!"

She hissed. The air of the bathroom became more humid, Jane's hair sticking to her forehead and neck as a sweat overtook her. Liara's consciousness was _so close_ to her own, almost _fondling_ her mind in a way that made Shepard writhe in sweet torment. Liara pulled herself from her Commander's shoulder to level an intense gaze into emerald eyes.

"You want this…?"

The biotics at her chest rubbed and caressed at a slightly faster rate. The hand down her underwear sped up and slowed down in a _deliciously_ excruciating dance of fingers and fluid.

" _Yes_!"

"Then…"

Liara pushed herself up to Jane's ear, whispering gently.

"… you're going to have to wait."

In an instant, the hands on her body were gone, as were the tendrils of biotic energy and the other mind scratching at her own. Shepard's body quaked as a sudden chill washed over her.

"W-wha…?"

She looked up to see Liara smirking at her Commander's state of undress. She _would_ have felt bad for the woman, had it not been for the fact that she herself had been left in this kind of position many times already by an overly playful Jane.

"Just think of this as a… _preview_ of what will be waiting for you _after_ your mission."

Shepard looked in disbelief at her lover. A pained whine came from her throat and the former archaeologist had to chuckle to herself as she retrieved her gloves with a dry hand.

"Sometimes the best motivation is a promise for the future… So make _sure_ you come back."

She said with a grin. She brought her unoccupied hand up, still dripping with Jane's _excitement_. With another sly smile, Liara lifted her fingers to her mouth, allowing Shepard to watch as she began licking and suckling the moisture from her digits. Jane bit her lip as her back slid slightly against the wall while she struggled to stay on her feet.

"You… little fucking _minx_."

The Asari giggled as she strode out of the bathroom, still licking her fingers. Jane had half a mind to hunt her down and act on her earlier thought of taking her until their bodies were numb-

"Commander Shepard, we are entering the Krogan demilitarized zone. E.T.A. to the Aralakh system is ten minutes."

The red-head could only groan in frustration at EDI's synthetic voice as she shakily slid her pants back up her toned legs, finding her boxer-briefs almost _completely_ soaked through. After readjusting her uniform (and making sure she wasn't as red as the hair on her head) Shepard stepped out of the women's communal bathroom to quickly enter the central elevator. She would need a fresh pair of undergarments, and another quick shower. An extremely _cold_ shower.

The metal of the elevator door slid closed before a certain hooded figure uncloaked herself. Kasumi rolled her eyes as she heard another cloak behind her and could practically _feel_ the smug smirk that painted her former mentor's face.

"Pay up."

The thief shook her head as she activated her omni-tool to transfer one-thousand credits into Alexis' account.

"Thank you! Now, we have a mission to prepare for. C'mon then!"

Kane laughed as she made her way over to the elevator, punching in the commands to have it open to allow them aboard before descending down into the shuttle bay. Kasumi scowled as she cloaked herself again. She was _sure_ Shepard would gain the upper hand, but the look of accomplishment on Liara's features and the expression of flustered bewilderment on Jane's had made it apparent the exact opposite had happened.


	26. Approach

**Disclaimer: Most of the characters and all of the locations, technologies, concepts, etc that appear in this story are property of Bioware/EA.**

* * *

 **This is War**

"Diagnostic checks complete. Targeting systems are at optimal capacity. Motor reflexes working at one-hundred-percent. Focault armor shielding technology running seamlessly. This unit is ready."

Commander Shepard smirked as she held onto the overhead handle, steadying herself as the shuttle rocked back and forth.

"Should be more than useful, if this data Kasumi has been providing us is accurate."

Major General Kane said as she checked the widow rifle in her hands one more time, making sure the weapon was properly functioning.

'It's accurate! Seriously, I _am_ a professional after all.'

Alexis grinned as the master thief's voice sounded from their radios. Jane smiled and shook her head, holding a finger up to the earpiece.

"Just remember Kasumi, _no_ direct contact unless absolutely necessary. You're our eyes and ears out there on the parts of the battlefield where we can't see or hear."

'Yeah, yeah. Scouting and intel gathering isn't nearly as fun, but if it's what you need me to do, I won't argue. Just stay alive, Shep… oh, you too Major General, and EDI, even though… Hey, does it really even count if you manage to die out there? I mean, since you're technically still on the ship…'

A loud and angry voice burst through the radio before the Japanese thief could finish her thought out loud.

' _Hey_! It sure as shit counts for _me_! Commander, you'd better take care of her!'

Shepard laughed for several moments before responding.

"Don't worry, Joker. She'll be back aboard, safe and sound before you know it."

EDI nodded her head in agreement, brown hair bouncing above her newly armor plated shoulders.

"I will be fine, Jeff. There is no need for alarm. Should I experience an event that results in this unit no longer functioning, your extensive archives of videos filed as 'alone time' will be unaffected."

Silence filled the radio space for some short seconds.

"… That was a joke."

The Commander chuckled and patted EDI's back.

"You'll get the hang of it."

"I will attempt to make adjustments to my humor processors. For now though, I would like to review the current course of action, if it is not too much trouble."

Jane smiled at the A.I. and nodded. Activating her omni-tool Shepard punched in several commands before a holographic area map laid itself out on the shuttle door beside them.

"Alright, objective is the Turian military unit stranded at their downed ship. Our entry point is here."

Shepard pointed to the edge of the holographic map. Preliminary scans from the Normandy showed the area they would primarily traverse through. They were relying on Kasumi for intelligence on enemy units and positions. From what the thief had relayed so far, Reaper forces were converging upon the Turian crew.

"The exact location of the crash site isn't known and Reaper troops are in the surrounding area, making any closer possible landing sites too dangerous. That's part of the reason why Kasumi is on the ground already. She'll be feeding us intel as we go but from what we've gathered on the crash trajectory and the scattered heat signatures, their position is somewhere here, maybe ten, fifteen clicks north of our drop zone."

The indicated area of the layout flashed several times. Alexis looked at the map with skeptical eyes.

"Do we have any idea _why_ a Turian platoon is in Krogan space? It's not exactly common."

Jane shook her head with a spiteful look on her freckled face.

"The Primarch was… _reticent_ in his explanation. Apparently, their mission was a matter of 'galactic peace' but they were shot down by Reaper forces already on Tuchanka. Our goal is to extract the survivors-"

Jane couldn't finish her sentence before the shuttle began jerking and swerving suddenly.

"Shit! Commander I'm gonna have ta' set her down! We've got Reaper troops crawling all over the area. They haven't noticed us yet but our original landing zone would've put us right on top of 'em."

The Commander turned to look at the display screen on the shuttle wall behind her. Dark red brows knit together in frustration as she viewed the images displayed.

"This crash site is a warzone… EDI, see if you can raise anyone using Turian radio channels in the area!"

"Affirmative."

The orange visual display flashed brightly before EDI's silver eyes.

"Get us somewhere discreet, Cortez. We can't alert the entire horde now and expect to get outta this alive."

"Aye aye!"

Lieutenant Steve Cortez nodded as he maneuvered as steadily as he could.

"EDI, anything yet?"

The synthetic shook her head, a frown on her face.

"I have located the radio signal, but establishing a connection is proving difficult. Something may be causing interference."

'I think I've found the source of that. Give me a sec!'

Kasumi said over their receivers. After several moments, the door to the shuttle unlatched.

"We're here, Commander. Good hunting."

The shuttle door opened and the squad dropped down onto the dirt below them. Jane moved forward, scanning the area as her team fanned out, searching for any hostiles. Finding none, Shepard allowed herself to take in the dry air of the Tuchanka night. Broken stone walls and pillars surrounded the group as fires were littering the area. Charred metal debris was present, no doubt pieces of the downed Turian frigate which seemed to have torn right through the building they were currently standing in front of. A soft wind picked up and rustled the maroon tresses on her head. Gunshots were sounding off in the distance, north of their position.

'Alright! Try connecting now.'

EDI's visor blinked again as she established a secure link.

"Commander, the connection is unstable but I have their signal."

"Good, patch me through."

Jane held a finger up to her earpiece as she spoke.

"This is Commander Shepard, Alliance Navy. Does anyone copy, over?"

A few seconds of static filled the air before a voice rang out in her ear.

' _Sssrrrkssgh-_ ank the spirits! This is Lieutenant Tarquin Victus of the Ninth Platoon! We're pinned down by Reaper harvesters and taking heavy losses here, over!'

Jane's brow came further together in suspicion at hearing the name over the radio. Kane looked to the Commander, having the same thought upon hearing the exchange.

"How many men are left in your team, and how many are injured or K.I.A., over?"

' _krrsschrrrzz-_ ore than two dozen on their feet. We don't- _sssrkzzch-_ much injured. These things don't leave much- _chrzzzt-_ or injury. But there are others. Some of my men became scattered throughout the area when their escape pods fired off. Agh, damn it! Someone get on that turret, lay down some fire support! Do _somethi-skrzzztch-_!'

Muffled arms fire could be heard over the sounds of panicked shouting. Jane frowned as she looked out upon the vista they had on Tuchanka's desolate and ruined surface.

"We'll try ta' find some way to help them, but I need you to fire a flare so we can trace your coordinates."

EDI looked up to immediately see the red glare shoot up into the sky.

"Calculating their position… I have it, updating our hardsuit navigation."

Jane nodded.

"Okay, we're on our way."

'Just hurry up! My men are dying here!'

Jane unlatched the M-22 Eviscerator from her back, the metal material sliding forward and locking into place, ready and waiting to be used at a moment's notice.

"Let's move, people. We don't have a lot of time."

The Commander said as she stepped over a pile of rubble to enter the ruined building before them. Clear evidence of explosions and fighting were all around them as they began moving onward. Fires were spread out everywhere and it was difficult navigating the rubble.

"So, Victus…"

Jane heard Alexis state behind her.

"Yeah. I'm just as confused as you are."

"Could be a brother, maybe?"

Shepard grunted as she moved up the ladder before them, hauling herself up onto the stone flooring.

"Doubtful. Sounded too young. Too… inexperienced, almost. Possibly a son or nephew."

The Major General frowned as she joined Shepard on the upper level.

"Why would the Primarch send family on secret mission on _Tuchanka_ of all places?"

"According to my scans, there are no significant resources in or around this area."

EDI chimed in as she followed closely, watching the rear of the team. Jane's scowl deepened as they moved through the burning stones of the structure.

"We'll find out why they're here soon enough. Let's keep moving."

'You may want to _not_ do that. A group of husks is directly ahead of you. Looks like they're having a late dinner.'

The squad silently came up to a corner. Holding up her fist in a stopping signal, Jane peeked around to see three dried out Humanoid creatures huddled around what looked to be a mangled corpse.

"They aren't aware of us yet. Major General, would you like to do the honors?"

Alexis smirked as her figure shimmered away into nothing. A flickering image appeared before the husks, gaining their attention. They stared at the decoy for a second before an omni-blade sliced through the skull of the center creature. The one to the right suddenly lit up in orange flames, burning to a crisp as the last husk was thrown to the ground, head exploding in a show of gray liquid and metal shards. Kane appeared again as her cloak deactivated, drawing her M-98 Widow rifle to scan the area one last time.

'Very nice…'

"Good work. Let's keep it up as long as we can. Once we're noticed I doubt we'll have the chance for another surprise."

Jane said as she and EDI advanced. The Turian body the husks had been feasting on was laid on the ground at their feet.

"First casualty. Judging from the footprints there, it looks like he limped his way over here before he was made into a meal."

The Major General stated as Shepard knelt down to inspect the corpse.

'There's an escape pod on the path you're taking. He could've come from there. This whole place is _littered_ with the things.'

Kasumi said over the radio. Jane rose up from where she knelt over the soldier's body, Eviscerator at the ready.

"It's too late to help the dead. Let's see if we can help his comrades. Tight formation, people. We don't wanna give ourselves away yet."

* * *

The head of the last Marauder fell to the ground before it knew what had been attacking its detachment. A black hood phased into the visual spectrum and Kasumi took one more glance around the elevated area she had cleared out, slightly short of breath. She was used to dealing with threats on her own, but Reaper troops proved significantly more durable than the usual rabble of merc bands and the like that she typically ran into. It gave her more of a challenge, but as her late lover would often say before a job: Challenge breeds initiative. Initiative promotes creativity. Creativity inspires elegance.

Kasumi strode to a nearby ledge, looking down and observing the Normandy squad's stealthy movement through the area (even though she could practically hear their footsteps even from this distance). She looked ahead of the group, moving to gain a better view of the broken building. The thief's eyes widened as she took in the sight before her.

"Shep! You've got survivors to rescue; they're taking fire from a harvester and a cluster of cannibals!"

'Got it. Distance to the battle?'

Almond colored eyes squinted as she gauged the space between Shepard's squad and the group of Turians under attack.

"About twenty meters, and they don't know you're coming. But you'd better move your buns! Those Turians won't last very long without any help."

'Roger that! You heard her, let's move!'

Kasumi leaned closer to the edge to see Jane's squad move quicker through the burning rubble of the broken building above them. The hooded thief looked back to the ongoing assault.

"Looks like… five cannibals and the harvester. Should be easy enough for you to deal with-"

She stopped her sentence at the sound of heavy metallic footfalls behind her.

'Kasumi? Everything alright?'

"Yeah, just gonna deal with an uninvited guest. Now get moving."

The click of an omni-tool was heard and Kasumi's form disappeared as she ducked out of the way of a large claw hammer slamming down onto the ledge, cracking the stone beneath. The brute snarled as it whirled around, trying to see where its prey had disappeared to. Its large form took one step before an unseen force slammed into its head. The monstrosity lashed out, trying to hit what had struck it before the metal of a kinetic blade sunk into its ankle. The thief reappeared behind the thing with a smirk on her face and twirling a long, serrated knife in her fingers.

"Looking for little ol' me, big boy?"

Its Turian skull turned to shoot a hateful glare at Kasumi before turning fully toward her, leg limping from the damage she'd caused. The clawed hand raised itself to swing in a wide arc, only to hit air as its target gracefully bent herself backward to avoid the hit and flipped her body to land on her feet. The brute dug its heels into the dirt and charged forward, snarling viciously as it attempted to make contact.

The slippery thief grinned as her form faded from view again, leaving nothing in her place as the bulky monster's body barreled across the platform. It turned again, trying to scan the area for any sign of movement. The pain of an edged blade slid into its oversized shoulder before an electric pulse jolted into the brute's mangled nervous system. It howled in pain again and swung in the direction the attack had come from and then felt another slash along its clawed arm, almost slicing the dented metal clean off.

The large creature growled and raised its fists into the air to slam them down to the ground, creating a shockwave that sent the invisible thief backwards. The brute saw the dirt shift ahead of it and knew where its prey was. With surprising speed, it lifted itself into the air and smashed its claw hand down again, this time making contact with something. The beast growled again in vicious triumph and saw the sparking and shimmering of a tactical cloak deactivate underneath its large hand. It removed its claw, seeing the body of the black clad Human lying motionless on the ground. It lifted its head into the air, letting out one more bestial roar as it stood over the body. However, as it looked back down, the corpse flickered and soon faded away from view.

"I like your enthusiasm! Here's a little gift!"

An unseen hand smacked onto its face, laying a small device onto the thing's skull before Kasumi's slim form became visible again. She smirked one more time and waved a hand before the device exploded in a blinding flash of light. The beast roared in anger, its optics severely damaged from the flash-bang grenade as it tried to swing at the thief. Kasumi could only laugh as she quickly leapt onto its back, sliding her knife into the base of the brute's spiked skull.

With a simple flick of her thin wrist, the head came off and thumped onto the ground. Jumping off of the brute as its motions slowed, she landed on her feet again and gave another smile.

"I'd play with you more, but I'm afraid I'll have to run. Got my own promises to keep."

The Japanese thief activated her omni-tool and sparks of electricity erupted from the brute's body, particularly intense at the points where she had sunk her blade into, engulfing the cybernetic materials within in searing hot sparks. After a moment, the creature slumped to the ground in a large heap, finally dead.

Kasumi looked back over to the battle. Shepard and her squad were doing fine as far as she was concerned. The woman had always been tough as nails. With Aka and EDI's new toy at her side, the Reapers would certainly have their hands full, but they weren't invincible. She would need to watch closely, Kasumi would be absolutely _livid_ if she'd lost another loved one.

The thief smiled as she spun her knife in her hand, swiftly placing it into the sheath on her hip next to the holster of her pistol before leaping off of the ledge, activating her cloak and disappearing on the way down.

* * *

The final cannibal screeched in pain as it was wreathed in flames, falling to the ground as EDI scanned its burned body for any more signs of life. Finding none, she quickly looked up to catch sight of the harvester flying toward their position at the downed escape shuttle.

"The harvester is coming back around! I would suggest taking cover!"

Jane knelt down behind a broken stone pillar, dragging a wounded Turian soldier with her as he injected a vial of medigel into his knee.

"Can you get a shot?"

EDI looked at the incoming Reaper thrall, quickly calculating its trajectory and flight path before assessing the structural integrity of its wings.

"Yes! Major General, I require your disruptor ammunition!"

Alexis nodded as she activated her omni-tool to apply the ammo modification to the rest of the group while kneeling down behind the burning metal of the escape pod with two more soldiers at her side. EDI raised her Scorpion heavy pistol, taking a small moment to adjust her aim before sending a single explosive round into the air. The shot landed squarely onto the joint of one of the bug-like Reaper's wings before exploding and spreading the sparking ammunition effect to the wing. With another swift evaluation of distance and speed, the A.I. launched an incineration blast through the air to collide with the afflicted wing. The appendage lit up in a bright electric blast, crippling the wing and sending it tumbling down to land onto the ground which they stood.

The enormous beast slid to where EDI stood as she brought her arm up. Activating a large orange blade, she slid the omni-tool weapon into the harvester's head, stopping its momentum and keeping its head in place while its large body thrashed about. Kane came out of cover to land another shot onto the beast as Shepard charged forward, slamming into its head to cause another tech explosion before putting her own incendiary rounds into it. EDI removed herself from the harvester's head to activate an overloading field, forcing the armored hide to erupt into a swathe of flame as it ceased its movements.

"Hah… very useful, indeed."

Kane said as she gave EDI a grateful smile. The A.I. holstered her pistol as she felt a gloved hand on her back.

"Knew you wouldn't let us down, EDI."

The holographic display blinked before silver eyes as EDI nodded, a smile stretching her lips. The Commander gave a light pat to her back before turning to the Turian survivors behind them.

"Alright! You're safe for now but we need to rendezvous with your commanding officer to get you off of this planet. From our scans of the area there should be a path to the crash site that's more discrete than the one we'll be taking. We'll draw the Reaper's fire, let us deal with the threats and we'll all make it outta here alive."

"Hopefully you'll turn out better than _idiot_ Victus."

Jane's brow rose as she heard the off-hand remark from the group of soldiers.

"You've a problem with the Lieutenant?"

Alexis asked. One Turian came forward, leveling a frown at Shepard's squad.

"He's a _moron_. The only reason he's here is because dear ol' _dad_ promoted him! And he's the _reason_ we're all in this mess!"

"I say we leave him here ta' get _eaten_ by these things!"

Another shout from the group was followed by several nods and grunts of approval. Jane frowned and holstered her weapon.

" **Hey**! Enough! We aren't here to ask opinions on what went wrong! We're here to get _all_ of you out alive. Whatever's left of the Hierarchy can deal with him _after_ you return to Turian space. _Understood_?"

The Turian soldiers quieted as Jane raised her voice at the group. Kane looked at Shepard with uncertainty.

"Well, this certainly bodes well. Let's hope the main detachment is faring better than this lot."

'Spoiler alert: they're not. You'd better get moving, there's another escape pod on your path with more survivors. Not much between you and them, but they're doing about as well as ones you just saved.'

The master thief stated over the radio. Jane nodded her head, maroon hair swaying with her movement as she turned to her squad.

"Alright, let's keep going. The Reapers aren't just gonna wait around for us to put some bullets between their eyes."

Jane said as she unhooked the M-3 Predator mark-five pistol from her hip and began stepping forward down the fiery path before her.


	27. Mission

**Disclaimer: Most of the characters and all of the locations, technologies, concepts, etc that appear in this story are property of Bioware/EA.**

* * *

 **This is War**

'EDI! You've got another brute incoming, left side!'

EDI turned just in time to catch a clawed hand as it swung, stopping its momentum and halting the horrible creature in its tracks. Holding onto the twisted metal with one hand, her other came up to pierce an omni-blade into its chest to keep it in place as the thing snarled and tried to disengage.

"Commander!"

A reave field grafted itself onto the monstrosity before Jane bounded over the fallen stone pillar to ignite her barriers before the beast, further warping its already mangled body as an explosion tore through its armor. The brute reared back from the force of the blast before a powerful Widow rifle shot ripped its head in half and ended its life as its body slumped down onto the dirt.

Jane had but a moment to look out onto the battlefield before taking a shot to her barriers and being forced back into cover. Cannibals and Marauders were swarming over the crash site. The Turian squadron was holding their own near their downed ship, but they wouldn't have lasted long had her own team not arrived.

'Shep! On your right!'

The Commander heard Kasumi's voice and turned to put a round into a husk that had tried to leap up and grab her. The creature's body fell to the ground, dead, as another sniper shot resounded across the field. Kane unleashed an incineration blast onto the marauder she'd just fired into, watching its body light up in bright blue sparks and flames alongside the cannibals that surrounded it. Yet despite their progress in eliminating threats on the battlefield, it seemed that the hordes of Reapers had no end. More troops descended down onto the dirt like termites on a wooden plank.

EDI let loose another overloading charge to eat away at a marauder's shields up ahead. Jane charged forward, slamming herself into the mangled Turian and sending it flying up the incline littered with stone and metal rubble before she detonated her barriers again. The resulting blast cleared away the husks that had been around it to allow her squad to move further in.

The sound of gunfire became louder and more intense as they moved up the small hill that was their battleground, toward the heavily damaged Turian frigate.

"We can't keep this up for long!"

The Major General shouted as she landed another shot onto a cannibal, ripping through its body and hitting the husk behind it.

"We need ta' get to their ship! We're running low on clips and the enemy isn't gonna slow down for our sake!"

Shepard leapt up to charge into another marauder and smashed the butt of her shotgun into its face before ducking down and allowing Alexis to cleanly remove its head from its shoulders.

"Commander! Recent scans indicate that there may be some kind of Reaper infrastructure in the area that is emitting a large power signature! It may be contributing to the unexpected amount of resistance here!"

EDI said as she mercilessly shoved her fist into the face of a cannibal, grasping whatever she could inside its body before tearing her arm out along with pieces of decomposed brain matter and bone tissue.

'Give me the coordinates; I'll see what I can do.'

"Just don't get yourself killed, Kasumi!"

Jane growled irritably over her radio while laying down another reave onto a group of Reaper troops. Several slugs of explosive rounds made contact with the afflicted cannibals, spreading a disrupting charge of electricity as they exploded before the Commander biotically charged into them. The loud tech explosion was immediately followed by a biotic detonation as she thrust her fist down into the dirt and projected her barrier outward in another nova blast.

'I should be telling _you_ that! Stay safe out there!'

"Commander! On our right, harvester incoming!"

The Major General shouted, incinerating another group of husks. Shepard grunted as she put another round into a nearby cannibal before looking up at the winged monstrosity in the sky. Its head reared back as the large mortars attached to its head began glowing.

" **Cover, NOW**!"

A high pitched whirring came from above before the field was bombarded with high yield explosive rounds. Dirt and stone debris flew everywhere as Jane crouched down behind another thick stone pillar. The explosions were _overwhelmingly_ loud and the ground beneath her feet shook with each drop of ordinance on the combat zone. The fire abated to a halt and Shepard came out from cover. The other Reaper forces had been decimated in the harvester's attack, allowing for a small break in gunfire. The Commander stepped forward, flanked by EDI and Alexis as they sighted down their next target in the air.

"Let's bring that bastard down. Make _every_ shot count."

Her companions nodded, Kane faded away as her cloak activated while EDI unhooked the Scorpion pistol from her hip. Jane's biotics flared brightly as she readied another reave field.

* * *

"So… this is what's leading you all here…"

Kasumi said to herself as she looked at the large metal construction from her vantage point at an elevated platform of another ruined building not too far from the Turian crash site. From what she could see, it looked to be a transmission beacon, sending out a signal into space. By her guess, this was how the Reapers knew where to launch troops to begin laying siege before proper transports were sent out. The structure rose high into the sky, a dark blue color similar to the Reapers themselves. The base of it was surrounded by marauders, an obvious guard force for protection. The top of the tower was emanating a bright purple glow that pulsed once every few minutes. If the light was any indication, the signal wasn't a continuous stream, which meant she would have an easier time tapping into it unnoticed.

The thief smirked as she activated her omni-tool. She waited several moments before the bright glow dimmed. She quickly hit several commands and watched as many of her programs swarmed into the Reaper network in the blink of an eye. There wasn't even any security to speak of. Kasumi pouted in mock disappointment, expecting what was arguably the most advanced sentient race currently in the galaxy to at least have some decent software protection.

Rooting around within the Reaper network, she saw code banks and language that made her head tilt in confusion. She recognized none of the coding bases the Reapers used, though; she admitted that she shouldn't really be surprised. The master thief decided to snag whatever bits of data she could to send to Liara and the Alliance. Hopefully they could do better with it than she could.

"Looks like I'll have to do this the old fashioned way."

Kasumi grinned as her cloak activated to shroud her hooded form.

The marauder that had been looking in her direction turned slightly at the sound of falling rock and sand to its side. The Turian monster released a series of metallic clicks and low hums to signal its brethren of the disturbance. The marauder made its way toward where it had heard the noise. The base of the building towered overhead, shrouding the light of the moon as distant gunfire was heard.

The mangled Turian turned the corner to view the interior of the building before another sound filled the air. The sound of metal scraping against stone and striking off of a surface with a sharp _snnk!_ The marauder entered the building and scanned the dimly lit room for but a moment before it was shoved into the wall beside it. Its modified Phaeston rifle was torn from its grasp before its head was slammed into the stone wall. Before it could even process what had happened, a long blade entered its cranium. The creature struggled for several seconds before an electric pulse fried its internal systems and rendered it as dead as it should be.

Kasumi's cloak deactivated as she extricated herself from the corpse. She grunted in disgust as she attempted to wipe away the shining gray blood staining her suit before giving up. She silently hoped the Normandy was upgraded with dry cleaning. The thief's form sparked again and her body faded from view.

Another marauder intently watched where its comrade had gone, completely unaware of their fate, before a small, flat device landed at its feet. Aiming at the glinting metal, the cybernetic creature sounded off to alert the rest of its unit. It crouched down to pick the disk-like object up, holding it closer to see just what it was. Its brethren came around to inspect what they had been called for. None noticed the marauder tailing the group having its head sliced open and carried behind the Reaper beacon.

More hard, metallic murmurs and buzzes filled the air as the marauder flipped the device in its grasp. A moment later, the disk began beeping quietly as it released a small hatch. The creature dropped the object just as it flashed brightly, blinding and deafening the group of Reaper soldiers. This time, none heard the explosions on the far side of the beacon as they fired blindly at whatever they could.

"Sorry boys, we're at maximum capacity. I'm afraid your friends will have to wait at the door."

One marauder's vision cleared just enough to see a hooded figure sitting atop a large rock. It raised its rifle and was about to fire before the dark metal structure beside them crushed it and the rest of its squad as the beacon toppled over. Dust and sand kicked up from the shockwave, forcing Kasumi to shield her eyes with a hand.

The optics of a marauder blinked as it tried moving underneath the steel rubble that had slain its squadron. It looked up to see the barrel of a modified M-11 Suppressor looking back down at it. With a slight movement of her finger, Kasumi took the life of the creature in complete silence.

"Easier than I thought. Now I'm legitimately disappointed."

The master thief brought a hand up underneath her hood to the earpiece she wore as her other hand holstered her pistol.

"Shep, no more invites going out. The guests you have with you are the last ones in. Give 'em one hell of a party!"

'Acknowledged!'

Kasumi grinned as she looked toward the battlefield. The dry sand of Tuchanka picked up with the wind, enshrouding the Japanese thief's lithe form as she disappeared along with it.

* * *

"Give me some covering fire! Let's mop up the rest of these things!"

Jane shouted as she charged down the hill. There were no more enemy troops falling from the sky. With the main threat of the Reaper horde quashed, there were only stragglers left to clean off of the field. Bullets whizzed by her as Shepard smashed herself into one of two remaining marauders. Another sniper shot rang out and the head of a nearby cannibal burst open, leaving only four on the field to be engaged with the remains of the Turian crew.

The Commander reached out to grab the face of the disoriented marauder and shoving it into the final brute shambling toward her. The hulking beast simply swatted the smaller Reaper troop away as it dug its heels and claw hand into the ground.

"Brute charging! Ready for it, EDI!?"

Kane shouted as she placed another round into a marauder's skull. Jane stood her ground as the brute closed in. The massive creature couldn't make contact, however, thanks to EDI slamming into the thing's side. She forced it off course to Shepard's side as she plunged her omni-blade into the side of its stomach, tearing the searing hot blade through the brute's front and launching another incineration blast into the beast.

The brute turned to try and land a punch onto the A.I. only to have the red-headed Commander biotic charge into it in a cloud of dark energy, forcing the thing back as its armor was twisted and warped by the resulting explosion of orange flames. Another Widow slug imbedded itself within the brute's spinal column, spreading the disrupting electric charge through its system. Jane's biotics flared again as she laid out a reave field onto the bulky monster, watching as pieces of the thing slopped off of its body before smashing her fist into its side and igniting her barriers, deteriorating more of its armor.

The brute staggered and swayed on its feet, finally feeling the life leave its rotted innards. EDI launched one more incineration blast at the beast and forced it to its knees as the bolstered electric charge coursed through its body in a vicious tech explosion. Jane came up to put one last shotgun round into its skull, blowing the darkened Turian skull open in a small shower of bone shards and metal shrapnel. She could swear the ones they were encountering were better outfitted than the brute they'd slain on Menae, with more armor plates and tougher skin. As the brute slumped over onto the ground, Shepard looked back up the hill to see the Turian platoon they'd been sent to extract take care of the remaining cannibals and husks.

"Any injuries?"

"None that require second party aid, Shepard."

"I'm good, Commander. Let's go see to this crew."

Jane nodded as she and her squad made their way back up the hill to the downed ship. The ever present gunfire that filled the air of the crash site ceased as they neared their objective, but the sounds of raised voices soon hit the squad's ears.

"You should be drawn and quartered for this fuck up, Victus!"

"Stand down!"

"The men that died here today died because of _you_!"

" **Hey**!"

Jane shouted as she lifted herself up upon the raised stone platform to join the Turian squadron.

"Let's all just calm the _hell_ down. Now which one of you is Lieutenant Victus?"

A pale skinned Turian with white facial markings stepped forward toward Jane, a grim expression on his face.

"Commander Shepard, we're all in your debt…"

Shepard couldn't help but notice all of the glares shot in the Turian's direction from his own squad as he stepped over to speak with her. Alexis frowned as she joined the Commander on the platform, followed by EDI.

"What the bloody hell happened here, Lieutenant?"

Tarquin lowered his spiked head as he spoke.

"I… made a bad call. We encountered a sizable amount of Reaper opposition on our flight path here on Tuchanka. I thought it would be too risky to take them on in a direct air-to-ground assault, so I gave the order to skirt around them on a diverging course, through these ruins… but we didn't realize that they had airborne units of heir own. The path we took was intercepted by the harvesters, and there was no room to maneuver."

He looked back mournfully to what was left of his team.

"… A lot of my men paid the price for my mistake."

Shepard was right in her earlier assumption. Just from his posture and speech alone, Jane was able to tell this Turian was inexperienced in matters of commanding a unit. She'd read enough about the Hierarchy to know that promotion without capability only ended in a court room trial and, depending on the situation, either incarceration or an execution.

"Owning up to your faults takes courage, but it takes more than that to move on from them."

The Lieutenant shook his head as he turned to face Jane again.

"Moving on is about the only thing we can do. Our mission is scrapped. We'll treat whoever's wounded and return to the fleet. Hopefully… my punishment will be quick and painless."

"Turian military protocol does not allow for retreat from an assignment. The consequences will be severe for both you and your squad."

EDI said as her visor flashed again. She took note of the cloaked heat signature on the rock wall beside them. Tarquin's mandibles shook as his brow plates came together.

"We're down over _thirty_ men. We're dead either way."

Shepard came forward, a hard stare on her face.

"Just what is it that you came here to do, exactly?"

The Turian sighed and looked up toward the Tuchanka night sky.

"There's a bomb. It's a… class-Q. A planet cracker. We were sent to diffuse and salvage it."

EDI's eyes perked up as she recognized the classification name Tarquin said.

"Why would a bomb of such a substantial caliber be on the Krogan homeworld?"

Jane turned to look curiously between Tarquin and the A.I.

"You're gonna have ta' fill me in here. What is this bomb?"

The orange visor blinked again before bright silver eyes.

"During your mission on Utukku, I took the time to look into various military databases connected to our network by Specialist Traynor concerning the Rachni wars for any significant information in case the queen was uncooperative. I came across several files detailing what was only referred to as the 'Fist of the Spirits'. The Turian military developed the project for use against worlds that had been unrecoverable from the Rachni, but only one was deployed before the design was discontinued and the schematics were purged from historical records."

Kane stepped toward EDI, uncertainty painting her features.

"And the results of that one deployment?"

"As I said… a planet cracker."

Tarquin said as he turned to lean on a nearby fallen pillar, looking out to the deserts of Tuchanka.

"It was later designated as the 'Q' bomb and then buried like a dirty secret that High Command didn't want the public to know about. The one that was deployed during the Rachni wars… it wasn't even detonated on its target's _surface_ … As a result of the thermonuclear blast, one fourth of the planet's surface was _decimated_ with extreme heat and radiation bombardment. The atmosphere became so toxic that even the Rachni occupying it didn't survive. The nearby moon was recorded only as being 'shattered like glass' by the detachment that delivered it and watched it go off from two systems away. They didn't even need visual enhancements to see the glare of light it produced. It had an estimated yield… of one-point-six Petatons…"

Jane's eyes flew open at the absurd measurement of explosive force.

"If… something like that was set off _within_ the atmosphere of a planet…"

Tarquin nodded his head, looking back over to Shepard's squad.

"Rapid climate shift, tectonic disruption, distortion of mass, destruction of the ozone layer… the targeted planet would tear itself apart in a matter of _hours_."

The Major General came forward; suddenly suspicious of what such a monstrous weapon was doing here in the first place.

"This thing is _Turian_ in design… _why_ is it here?"

The Lieutenant lifted himself up from the stone, his head turned downward as he silently debated with himself. He was aware of what his father was doing with the Krogan clan leader. This would no doubt incite more hatred between his race and the Krogan, but now wasn't the time to keep secrets from allies. If they wanted a long-lasting alliance, everything would need to be laid bare.

"It's the last of its kind. It… was planted here on Tuchanka as… a _countermeasure_. In the event that a situation similar to the rebellions began. In case the Krogan were to rise up in a campaign of violence again. From the reports we've received… a _Cerberus_ battalion has discovered it."

Jane gazed wide eyed at the Turian for several moments. This was _lunacy_. Something as dangerous as a weaponized miniature _supernova_ existed, and it was in the hands of a fanatical, anti-alien terrorist organization. She quickly brought a gloved finger to her ear as she hailed the Normandy.

"Joker! The mission parameters have changed _drastically_! I need two shuttles _ASAP_!"

'Roger that, sending them on course now. ETA is five minutes.'

"Victus, gather your men and be ready to move _immediately_. We need the coordinates of this bomb."

Tarquin was taken aback by the sudden command.

"What? No, it feels like we've been fighting for an entire _week_! My squad has suffered enough; they need to get out of here!"

Shepard felt her jaw clench itself as she whirled back at the Lieutenant.

"I _know_ it's difficult dealing with losses like this but these men _knew_ the risk the moment they signed on to be in the military. So do you. You _can't_ abandon this mission!"

The Turian shook his head and looked over to the remnants of his platoon. Just over a dozen of his men remained alive out of _forty-five_.

"Rgh… I may want to finish the mission… but _they_ don't!"

Jane felt the old and familiar frustration bubble up within her chest as she began glaring furiously at the Lieutenant.

"What the _fuck_ is wrong with you!? You're their _commanding officer_! Grow some balls, put a damn boot in their asses and get them _moving_! If Cerberus detonates that bomb, it won't just be the end of the Krogan; it'll be then end of _everyone_! The Reapers will advance unchecked and destroy us _all_ if we can't get their support! So get your ass in _gear_! We move in _four fucking minutes_!"

Tarquin's face was awash with shock for a few short moments before an expression hard as _steel_ took over. He didn't join the military Hierarchy to _run away_. He joined to make _one_ person proud of him. And he would succeed, or die trying. The Lieutenant turned to the rest of his platoon, eyes burning.

" **Hey**! Listen up! We came here for a reason! That reason does _not_ take into consideration your fears and grievances!"

One soldier came forward, leveling his own glare at Tarquin.

"The only thing we're afraid of is the next order you give-"

" **As I said** , your fears and grievances are _irrelevant_! The only things waiting for us if we turn back are court martial, ignominy and a _noose_! Each and every one of you knows that! We came here to aid in the solidification of a _united_ force to combat the very things that have been trying to fucking _kill_ us for the past few hours! Right now, the fate of the _galaxy_ is tied with our mission!"

The glares faded away from the platoon's faces as they stared down their commanding officer.

"We are **Turian**! We do **not** run from a fight! Odds of survival are a _non-issue_! Live or die, we will see our mission through!"

Jane smiled as she watched Tarquin give his speech. She could hear the sounds of shuttle thrusters in the distance.

"Gather your equipment and get ready! Sunrise is in a few minutes! Let's show the galaxy what the Ninth Platoon is made of!"

After a moment of hesitation and exchanged looks, the remaining soldiers saluted the Lieutenant and began checking weapons and supplies. Alexis chuckled as she came up alongside Shepard.

"If I ever need a motivational speaker, he'll probably second on my list."

Jane smirked as she turned to look at the Major General.

"And who's the first?"

"You, naturally."

"The Commander can be quite convincing when she needs to be. An excellent trait for a public speaker."

EDI said with a smile as she joined the squad. Snickering lightly, the Commander turned around to see two UT-47 Kodiak shuttles touch down onto the stone and dirt. The doors opened, waiting for Human and Turian boots to enter.

* * *

 **Due to several events happening in my life, this chapter and the next have truly suffered from continuously being put on hold. Hopefully I will be able to get back to making quicker updates.**

 **Thank you for reading and I hope to have you join me again.**


	28. Victory

**Disclaimer: Most of the characters and all of the locations, technologies, concepts, etc that appear in this story are property of Bioware/EA.**

* * *

 **This is War**

"The genophage wasn't enough…? You had to plant a _bomb_ on my planet!?"

Wrex _fumed_ as he glared at Primarch Victus as he stood beside the holographic panel at the center of the war room. The large panel itself displayed a blue outline of the ground team's progress to the Q-bomb. The recorded conversation they'd heard from the team's hardsuit data had inevitably led to the large Krogan storming across the war room to growl in the Primarch's face. Adrien sighed and turned to look at Wrex.

"It was an extreme measure taken more than a thousand years ago. One that _I_ didn't make. I'm not going to argue the ethics of it because it's pointless. The situation now demands for a course correction."

"Hrmph! And that 'correction' involved your little whelp?"

Victus sighed again and returned to his console.

"… I needed someone I could trust completely."

"So you send your own _son_ onto the battlefield leading an entire platoon, with virtually _no_ on-site command experience? H.C. would hang you if they caught wind."

High-Sergeant Ankara said from her station opposite the Primarch's. Victus glanced up briefly before returning his gaze to the holographic interface on his own terminal as it displayed incoming information from the skirmishes within Turian space.

"If Cerberus manages to set off that bomb, High-Command is going to be _rubble_ as the war progresses. Anyone else would have been a potential information leak."

The Krogan clan leader grunted and crossed his arms, throwing another glare in Adrien's direction.

"At least yer smart. If you'da told me there was a bomb that dangerous on _my_ world even a week ago, I would'a had you strung up to a pair o' Tomkahs and laughed while they drove in two different directions until you coughed up where the thing was."

"Then I'm glad things played out the way they did. Now let's hope this mission plays out just as well, or we'll find both our worlds torn away from us."

Victus said as he looked up to the holographic depiction of the Kelphic Valley, one of the major gathering places for the Krogan on Tuchanka. The Q-bomb was at the very edge of the ruins located on the outskirts of the valley. He knew if it managed to go off, those within the valley would be _incinerated_ to ashes before the entire planet would join them soon after. It would be the death of the Krogan as a united species, on top of shattering the would-be historic alliance between Turian and Krogan. Wrex exhaled loudly before meandering back over to his own console.

"If anyone can get the job done, it's Shepard. Anything that gets in her way is gonna get a bullet in their head."

Kassaran looked up from her own station to regard the large Krogan.

"Her combat ability isn't in question. But this operation requires speed and tact. We don't know how long we have until the bomb detonates. We may want to retreat to a safer distance in the event that it-"

"Not an option, buttercup. You may not have faith in her, but that woman down there is the best of the very best. She can do it. I'd bet my top-left nut on it."

The High-Sergeant's brow plates rose as her head snapped back from the crude comment before looking back down at her key-pad.

"… How charming. Do you speak this way when courting females as well? Or do they simply kneel before your simply _incredible_ masculine aura and then throw themselves at you?"

Wrex bellowed a loud laugh that caught many of the inhabitants of the war room by surprise.

"Ahaha! If I spoke like that around a female, they'd make sure I wouldn't be able ta' _have_ kids, genophage or otherwise."

Kassaran rolled her eyes. Yet, from what she saw of the Commander's prowess (and despite the inevitable mental image that would no doubt keep her up at night), Wrex would win that bet. Ankara took another glance back up at the light blue hologram before her. The cabal warrior sighed as she brought up another tab on her interface, viewing the personal medical data transmitted from the squad's hardsuit computers. Specifically, the Commander's heart rate, metabolic state, central nervous system scans and various other Human biological mechanisms.

 _Don't die just yet_ …

* * *

"Damn it! Fall back to the bomb site! Hold out for evac-"

The Centurion captain couldn't finish his sentence before a powerful, high-caliber shot removed his head from his body. Alexis' form became visible as the enemy's decapitated body fell to the ground. Gunfire and explosions filled the air around her as she looked out to the battlefield. The Normandy ground squad and the Turian detachment were pushing steadily to the bomb, but it seemed today was a day for surprises. Once again, they hadn't been expecting the amount of resistance they were encountering, and it was proving difficult to maneuver to their destination even with the help of what was left of the Turian platoon.

"Hah… They're retreating! Victus, have your men lay down some fire on the open plane ahead! Cover our right flank and keep pushing them back!"

The Major General barked out as she laid an overloading charge into another centurion, stripping his shields before a blur of wispy blue blazed past her to slam into him. The resulting tech explosion fried him within his armor as Shepard put a shotgun round into his torso.

"Got it! Keep Cerberus off them! Move forward and stay in cover! The bomb is just over that ridge there!"

Victus shouted to what remained of his squad. Of the dozen that had stormed onto the battlefield, nine remained. Yet despite their dwindling numbers, each of them fought with conviction. They knew what their mission was, and what would happen if they failed.

"Commander! I am reading a spike in radio activity! They may have sent out a distress signal to raise any back up in the area!"

EDI cried before firing into the retreating Cerberus groups ahead of them.

'They managed to get it off before we even landed. Nothing I can do- Shep! Watch your left!'

Jane grunted and turned to her side, quickly throwing out a pull field and ensnaring two troopers firing upon her before one's head exploded from a sniper rifle shot and another immediately lit up in bright orange flames.

"Rgh, push forward! **Now**!"

Deafening explosions resounded around the battlefield as Jane charged over the rusted metal slab she'd been using for cover, slamming into the back of a fleeing trooper. Another powerful widow shot ripped through the air, narrowly grazing Shepard's shoulder plate to lodge itself into the chest of a guardian through his shield.

"Shepard, get down!"

EDI shouted, barreling into the Commander and bringing her into the fallen stone debris beside them as a Cerberus shuttle came to a hover in the air. The door opened to reveal a slim, dark-clad Cerberus unit flanked on her sides by two Centurions and three troopers firing down onto them.

'Nemesis on the field!'

"Kane! Take her out!"

Before she could even take aim at the enemy sniper, the Turian soldier beside her fell to the ground dead as a shot entered his skull. Alexis lifted her head over her stone cover for but a second before the Nemesis squeezed off another round, barely missing its target by inches on the stone surface and forcing the Major General back into cover. Alexis grit her teeth and shook her head.

"I can't get a shot!"

Another loud sniper rifle discharge sounded above them and another Turian soldier fell to the dirt of Tuchanka, soaking the ground in his blood.

"They're gonna pick us off one at a time! I _need_ that sniper taken out!"

'Here's the wind up…'

Kasumi said over the radio as Jane looked up to see the Nemesis' shields spark brightly and overload, leaving her vulnerable.

'… And the pitch…!'

Kane popped herself out of cover to sight down the enemy before squeezing the trigger on her Widow anti-material rifle, instantly turning the sniper's head into a red mist and piercing straight through the trooper behind her.

'It's a high-fly ball! Can Shep capitalize on the play!?'

The red-haired Commander grinned as her biotics flared outward. Taking aim at one of the Centurions on the shuttle, Jane charged up at a blinding speed to smash into the enemy. Before he could even reel backward from the impact, Jane took hold of his faceplate, putting two rounds into his stomach and using him as a shield as his comrades fired into his back. The second she'd heard a break in the gunfire, Shepard tossed the wounded Centurion behind her and out of the shuttle, a vicious and terrifying smile on her lips.

She rushed forward, raising her Eviscerator shotgun and imbedding the last round in the thermal clip into a troopers head before turning the weapon in her hand and slamming its butt into the gut of the final trooper, grabbing him by the neck and shoving his dazed form into the remaining Centurion before he could raise his Mattock rifle to fire. As he recovered, another overloading charge disabled his shields before a reave field latched onto him. The corrosive biotic field ate away at his flesh beneath his armor before Jane purged her own barriers and focused the force it created into one point. She thrust her palm forward into his chest and the resulting explosion blew apart his torso in a shower of blood, bone and organ tissue.

The sheer power of the explosion shook the shuttle and forced it out of the hovering position. Jane turned and drew her pistol, shooting the locking mechanism of the cockpit door and forcing it open. The pilot didn't have time to draw his own weapon before several slugs entered his skull from behind. With the Cerberus pilot slumping forward into the controls, the shuttle began swerving and swaying in the air.

After another second, Jane could be seen leaping out of the open door of the Cerberus Kodiak and landing on her feet. The white shuttle fell down behind her in a heap with a loud _crash_ into the dirt.

'She can and she does! The score is: Team Alliance one, Team Cerberus zip!'

The Commander shook her head and smirked as she looked around on the battlefield and saw the last of the Cerberus forces that had either been to slow or hadn't run at all wiped out by her team and the rest of the Turian squad.

"Alright! We're not out of this yet, regroup and make for the bomb site! The rest of Cerberus is gonna be coming for us so stay alert!"

She said as she made her way around the defunct shuttle and traversing the small hill. Coming to the edge, Jane looked out to the ruins before her, seeing the large metal structure dominating the stone around it.

"So… that's it, huh?"

Alexis said as she came up beside the Commander. EDI quickly followed, stopping at the ridge with a frown on her face as her visor flashed.

"… Scans complete. This is indeed the Q-bomb. We should hurry, Commander."

Jane nodded, reloading her Eviscerator and putting a finger to her earpiece.

"Kasumi, you got our backs?"

'Right behind you, let's get this done already!'

* * *

"Objective is to secure the bomb site! We have intel that Commander Shepard is leading a team to disarm it. Pawn formations recommended! We have two operatives on the field already, draw the enemy's fire so they can move in and eliminate Shepard! After she's dead-!"

The shuttle rocked back and forth unexpectedly, cutting the Cerberus Centurion captain off mid-sentence. The rest of the troops inside looked to the door containing the cockpit.

"What the hell happened? Are we still on course?"

Silence filled the radio channel the Centurion was using. Turning around and unlocking the door, he stepped inside.

" **Hey**! What the _fuck_ ha-!"

The glass directly ahead of the pilot's chair was severely cracked, several fires and sparks erupted from the pilot's console, and the pilot himself was hunched over in his chair with a large hole in his chest and back. The Centurion could only look in disbelief at the scene as he felt the shuttle careen downward.

"… Damn it."

* * *

Major General Kane watched as the white Cerberus shuttle plummeted to the ground to explode in an inferno before ejecting the spent thermal clip from her Widow rifle.

"Another one down! Hold your positions; we have the high-ground here! Bunker down and let them come to us for a change!"

She shouted as she loaded another clip. A nearby trooper fired upon her crouching form, only to have his left side erupt into flames before a powerful shockwave ignited his body and reduced him to ashes. Shepard quickly bounded across the raised platform that her team and the Turian squad occupied to fire her shotgun into the head of an assault trooper as he attempted to climb up the stone structure. The rest of the Turian forces were spread out around the platform, firing into the enemy.

"Victus! How much time before this thing's disabled!?"

Jane shouted to the Turian Lieutenant as she unhooked the Predator pistol to fire down at the groups of Cerberus troops firing back up at her. Tarquin looked up from the panel he was working on at the base of one of the two large metal supports that held the Q-bomb in place above the gaping pit it had been excavated from. The gunmetal-gray monstrosity of a weapon hung above them in a way that almost seemed ominous.

"I need about five minutes! The code language for the bomb is older than all of us here _combined_ , but Cerberus set up some kind of firewall around it!"

"More Cerberus troops, incoming!"

EDI cried out, firing her Scorpion heavy pistol into the nearest Centurion. His shields were stripped from the explosive rounds before an overloading field sparked off and electrocuted him within his armor. EDI failed to notice, however, the object the Cerberus captain threw before as his body lit up in bright sparks. Her advanced aural processors did notice the almost muted beeping that began beside her over the loud gunfire around them. Looking down, she saw the metal cylinder flashing bright red and looked back up to Jane's form near hers, crouched down and reloading her Eviscerator.

" **Commander! Move!** "

The A.I. shouted as she ran to shove Jane out of the blast radius of the grenade. The thunderous explosion threw EDI into the Commander and tossed them both down onto the dirt of the platform. Shepard shook her head and looked down to EDI's body resting on her own.

"EDI? EDI, you okay!?"

She shook the A.I. several times before she twitched and lifted herself up from Jane's armored form, orange visor blinking several times.

"Damage assessments are complete. No significant trauma sustained. Are you alright, Shepard?"

She said as she reached down to pull Jane to her feet. The red-head smiled as she was hoisted up.

"Yeah, thanks for the save-"

A flash of sparks caught her eye on the stone platform on which they stood. She looked in the direction of the sparks for but a moment before the ground before her erupted into bright flashes of electricity, quickly closing the distance to where she and EDI stood.

Eyes widening, Jane pushed EDI out of the way before the wave of energy slammed into her, draining Shepard's barriers and sending her flying off of the stone stage and down onto the ground below. Her back ached painfully as it came into contact with the hard stone beneath.

' _shhzrk-_ epard!? You alright!?'

Red hair flailed wildly as she shook her head and brought a gloved hand up to the receiver in her ear.

"Ugh, yeah! Whatever that was fried my hardsuit systems. Barriers are freaking out, my amp might be damaged. EDI?"

'The damage to the software within the amplification module is not irreparable, but it will take time to reboot.'

Jane grimaced as she began lifting herself off of the ground.

"Alright, I'll rejoin-"

' **SHEP, ABOVE YOU!** '

Jane looked up to see a shimmering, nearly invisible form descend down, an edged and shining object pointed in her direction. Acting quickly, the Commander raised her shotgun just in time before another body landed on her. The pointed weapon burst through the Eviscerator shotgun, narrowly missing her head and entering the stone beneath her. The cloak flickered and faded away and Shepard saw her attacker, clad in Cerberus Shade armor.

Grunting, Jane twisted her arms in an attempt to pull the sword from the enemy's arms, only to see the blade come back through her damaged shotgun. With another downward thrust, the Cerberus Shadow operative tried piercing her target again before the blade was knocked off course by the metal of the Eviscerator again. Jane brought a fist up and bashed it into the side of the Shadow's helmet, forcing her slim body aside before bringing a booted foot up and kicking the enemy off of her completely.

Quickly recovering, the Commander looked to see the Shadow already on her feet and pointing her shining, kinetic blade at the red-head. Her stance was low and poised, ready for any type of attack. Jane glared at the enemy operative before looking down at her shotgun. The M-22 Eviscerator was practically in half, a long slit in the middle of the weapon and still steaming from the super-heated blade that had pierced it.

"… This was my favorite."

She said as she tossed the now useless weapon to the ground. The Shadow was completely silent, still staring straight at her enemy with the blade raised and ready. Jane sneered and brought a finger up to her radio.

"Kane."

'Yeah!?'

"You're in charge for now. Keep the Turians alive and make sure that bomb is disarmed."

'Affirmative! Keep in formation and lay your fire down ahead! EDI, focus on my targets! Victus, work _faster_!'

Jane lowered her hand, but not before brushing it across the sharp sting in her cheek. The dark red of the N7 stripe on the back of her armored hand spilled over into the white outline with blood. That same blood slid along the kinetic blade the Shadow wielded as it stood in the air between the two. Suddenly, the gunfire that had once been _earsplittingly_ loud was curiously drowned out by the silence as the duo stood facing one another.

Neither knew whether seconds or minutes passed. A drop of blood on the Shadow's blade hung in the air for the longest moment before dripping down and silently landing on the ground, staining the dirt of Tuchanka red in a small splatter.

The Shadow moved forward in the blink of an eye, twisting herself to swing her blade. Jane immediately stepped backward, narrowly avoiding the sword before stepping back in and drawing her pistol. In an instant, the Predator was knocked out of her hands by a swift kick and sent to the ground. Attempting to land a punch, Shepard only hit air as the Cerberus operative swayed to the side. The blade came up again in an ascending arc, then angling to the side. Jane managed to step to the side to avoid the first stroke, then ducked down to avoid the second, but couldn't dodge an unexpected third strike that connected to her arm and tore the enhanced fiber she wore between her armor plates.

Shepard gritted her teeth through the pain and stepped forward again, blocking the next swing by grabbing the Shadow's wrist. Her hand came up to grab the enemy's throat and moved forward, using her taller stature to her advantage and slammed the Cerberus operative's back into the fallen stone slab next to them. Struggling for a moment, the Shadow brought her legs up between the two, wrapping and weaving them around Jane's arm and shoulder. The leverage the Shadow had proved too great, Shepard's hand was ripped from her throat as the enemy extended herself. She tightened her grip on Jane's arm and twisted her body. In an instant, the Commander was on her back. The edged weapon came up again as the Shadow lifted herself into a kneel above Shepard.

With a swift motion, the blade was brought down with the intent to kill. However, it only wounded as Jane moved to the side, feeling the edge of her ear split painfully as the sword came frighteningly close to her head and imbed itself into the ground. Another powerful kick connected to the Shadow's chest and she was flung off of the Commander to hit the fallen stone again. Jane recovered quickly and felt her biotics flare before sending out a reave field. The field's target would have been struck had Jane's biotic amp not been damaged by the electric attack. The Shadow stepped off to the side and her body shimmered and disappeared while the top of the stone slab burned and fizzled from the reave.

Rising to her feet, Jane could only look for her enemy before a _searing_ hot pain erupted on her side. She clutched the wound and tried to see where the Cerberus operative was. The red-head heard the footsteps around her, quickly trying to dodge out of the way but getting her arm caught by a strike that almost sawed through her armor. Another slice found its way onto her shin and forced Jane down to one knee. With one final look ahead, Shepard saw the dirt beneath her shift. She would need to end this as quickly as possible. Grimacing and readying her biotics, Jane bet her life on the next precious few seconds.

With a mighty cry, Shepard lifted a fist and slammed it back down onto the ground. The small amount of her barrier that had regenerated was focused outward in an unstable biotic blast. It wasn't as powerful as what she was able to normally manage, but the force of it was enough to push the cloaked Shadow back just enough for Jane to notice. Another hard grunt sounded from her throat as Shepard lifted herself to rush forward. She thrust her fist into the air; making contact and hearing the harsh _crack_ of glass fill the air.

The Shadow's cloak flickered and sparked, deactivating as she stumbled back in a daze. The glass faceplate of her helmet was splintered and pieces fell away, revealing a glowing, electric blue eye glaring at her opponent. A grim and chilling reminder of what Cerberus had become.

Jane moved forward again on the now visible enemy operative, swiftly dodging the now wild swings the Shadow offered. Her stance was becoming more rough, unfocused and sloppy. _Predictable_. Sidestepping an over-committed thrust, Shepard grasped the extended arm, bringing a palm forward to the elbow.

" **Aaagh!** "

A loud screech tore itself from the Shadow's throat as the captured arm bent in a way that was wholly unnatural for a Human. Bones and joint cartilage could be heard _snapping_ beneath the tight body suit the Cerberus operative wore. The sword dropped from her grip, only to be picked up mid-air by Jane's gloved hand. Stepping forward again, Shepard clutched the Shadow's broken arm and brought the blade up, switching her grip on it and bringing it down in a plunge that would surely be fatal.

Had it connected.

Jane looked up in shock at her halted hand, finding a whip-like tendril around her arm, emanating a dull golden glow. Shepard felt a knee in her stomach, stealing the air from her lungs as the sword was snatched from her hand. Jane stepped aside before the blade came into contact with her head, but couldn't get any farther as her arm was pulled aside with enough force to send her into the stone wall beside her.

Looking up, Jane managed to see the Shadow standing next to another Cerberus soldier whose armor was different from the troopers and Centurions she'd encountered thus far. The golden-yellow tendril of biotic energy that held her forearm seemed to be generated from the gauntlet on his hand. She looked back to the Shadow standing beside him.

Holding the sword in the pit of her good arm, the Cerberus operative took her broken arm by the wrist. Another painfully audible _crack_ filled the air above the muted din of gunfire from above. Sparks of an electric current were visible in her arm as fingers that shouldn't have been able to move began flexing and clenching.

The blue eye behind the cracked glass faceplate glared at the Commander as the formerly broken arm took the blade in-hand, swinging and twirling it with an ease that should have been impossible for a broken arm. The soldier beside her extended his other arm and another long whip of golden biotic energy snaked out with a flick of his wrist. The lash swung in the air briefly and Jane felt the biotic tether around her torso as the one around her arm tightened, both suddenly pulling her toward the enemy duo.

The Shadow extended her blade to Jane's incoming form as she advanced. Shepard was helpless as her body careened toward the edged weapon. Time seemed to slow to a crawl for the Commander as she watched the blade come closer. It sheared through her Eviscerator and sections of her armor like a steaming hot piece of coal in the snow. Her biotics were still unstable as the software of her amplification mod was rebooting.

Would her life end here? It didn't seem real. She still had _so_ many things to do. A large number of those things involving her beautiful blue archaeologist. She silently hoped Liara wouldn't be watching-

Before she could even complete her thought, another glittering, invisible form entered her field of vision. The Shadow's sword was knocked downward with a sharp _clang_ at the same time as the golden biotic whips were severed. Seeing her opportunity, Jane quickly lifted her leg and used the momentum she had to slam her booted foot into the Cerberus operative, sending her into her accomplice as Shepard stumbled to regain her posture.

"You seem to have your hands full. How's about I lightened the load a bit?"

Jane could only grin as she heard the familiar voice beside her. The master thief herself became visible next to Shepard, twirling her knife in her fingers.

"I was wondering when you were gonna show up."

"Pfft, you would've been fine. No way these two chumps can take you."

The two Cerberus operatives lifted themselves from the ground, staring down the enemy team.

"I've got twinkle-toes there. The Dragoon is yours."

Kasumi smirked as Jane's gloved knuckles cracked within her clenched fists. Without wasting a second, the Cerberus Dragoon produced two biotic whips, swinging them in the air as the Shadow moved forward toward Shepard. Her path was blocked as Kasumi stepped forward and sliced outward, forcing the Shadow to block with her own sword and causing a loud clash of steel upon steel. The electric blue eye widened as the Shadow stared down at the blade in the thief's hand.

"Surely you know a few more tricks than just swinging that thing around."

With another smirk, Kasumi activated her omni-tool and a bright electric charge coursed through the serrated knife, flowing through the blade and into the sword the Shadow wielded. Swiftly detaching herself from the thief, the Cerberus Shadow leapt backward before the charge could enter her body. Kasumi spun the knife in her hand; still glowing with the powerful blue sparks igniting it, and slid into a low stance before the Shadow. The Cerberus operative twirled her own blade and stepped into an identical position, poised and waiting. With one more flick of her wrist, the kinetic sword was engulfed in a swath of flame.

Shepard ducked another lash as it struck the stone wall beside her. The Dragoon brought both hands up and snapped the whips down, creating a powerful shockwave in front of him and creating a crater in the stone ground with the amount of biotic force he wielded. Jane managed to narrowly avoid the blast as she laid down another reave, this time hitting its intended target and eating away at the armor the Dragoon wore. He was undeterred as he leapt forward, bearing both lashes down in a vertical strike. Jane stepped to the side and came in close, dodging the golden-yellow tendrils and bringing a knee into the Dragoon's gut. Two more powerful punches connected to his helmet before the Commander brought her leg around, focusing as much biotic energy as she could into the limb and striking the Cerberus biotic's side.

The force of the explosion sent the Dragoon back across the battle ground. Recovering his balance, he sent out a lightning fast whip to connect to Jane's hand, wrapping around her wrist. Shepard didn't move as he expected her to, she simply stood as another golden lash held her opposite wrist. Jane only smirked.

"EDI."

'Your biotic amplification software has successfully rebooted, and is ready for full usage.'

The smirk on her lips turned into another vicious grin as her heels dug into the dirt. She slowly spun her hands around, wrapping the lashes tighter around her wrists as she grasped them. Wisps of blue biotics swirled around her. The whips became taut between the two, Jane pulling on one end while the Dragoon tried pulling in the opposite direction. His efforts would be in vain.

With a roar, the red-headed Commander pulled with a colossal force, removing the Cerberus Dragoon's feet from the ground as he was sent traveling through the air toward Commander Shepard. Jane brought a booted foot upward and made contact with the Dragoon's chest, forcing him to the ground as she got a closer, more firm grip on his biotic lashes. She kept her boot upon his chest as he tried struggling out of her grasp, only to have her yank upward with a strength that couldn't come from muscle alone. Sweat and blood dripped down her face as dark energy flared out into the air. Shepard clenched her teeth and pulled even harder up, bringing the Dragoon's arms into the dusty air above him.

Another hard tug made the gauntlets on the Cerberus soldier's arms give way and rip off of his wrists with the loud gnashing of metal. With the source of his biotic whips rendered useless, the Dragoon was helpless as Jane looked over to where her pistol had landed earlier in the fight. Using one more pull field, Jane biotically reacquired her weapon and aimed downward. With a loud _pang_ resounding through the air, the Dragoon's life was ended as his glass visor exploded from the gunshot. Panting, Shepard looked to the side to see her stealthy comrade and her own opponent.

Kasumi narrowly avoided the flaming sword as it carved a path in the air. She stepped forward again in retaliation, spinning and swinging her knife as trails of electricity were left in its wake. The Shadow avoided the strikes with a similarly fluid motion. The dance of fire, sparks, and metal went on for seconds before another loud _clang_ rang out.

The Shadow leapt back again, arm slightly shaking from the aftershocks of the impact and the minute electric charge coursing through her hand. She was at a disadvantage and she knew it. The thief's blade could carry an electrical current through other objects; she couldn't even hold the knife off with her own sword for a period more than a few seconds.

Before she could even formulate a plan of approach, a biotic shockwave of dark energy slammed into her side. The Shadow was flung across the field, back smacking into the stone wall of the raised platform where the rest of Shepard's squad was. She slid down the wall to the ground, head lolling to the side as the visible eye behind her cracked visor closed. The gunfire that had been present above them was slowly ebbing away.

' _Spirits_!'

Jane brought a gloved finger to her ear.

"Victus, what happened?"

'I must've triggered some kind of failsafe! The bomb is set to detonate in sixty seconds!'

Kasumi gasped as she looked at her Commander from beneath her black hood. Jane snapped her head up as she saw the large metal structure holding the Q-bomb in place.

" _Fuck_! We need to evacuate!"

'No!'

More gunfire sounded off from the other end of the radio.

'We did _not_ come here to run away! Hold your positions and cover me!'

"Victus, what are you doing!?"

Both she and Kasumi looked up to see the Lieutenant's form climbing up the steel. Neither of them noticed a glowing blue eye open. Kasumi looked down too late to see a wave of electric sparks move forward from the recovered Shadow's form.

"Damn it!"

Kasumi shoved Jane aside as she took the brunt of the attack. Her body was sent through the air to slam into the fallen stone slab behind them. Jane shook her head and looked back to where the thief had been thrown.

" **Kasumi**!"

Jane yelled as she rushed over to her squadmate's sitting form. Pulling the hood down and pressing two gloved fingers to the thief's throat, Shepard allowed her hardsuit systems to assess her friend's medical condition. She didn't notice the Shadow disappear with the activation of her cloak.

* * *

Lieutenant Victus stood atop the huge arrangement of metal struts and beams. The Q-bomb was directly below him and was going to go off in the next thirty seconds. The excavating equipment Cerberus had used to bring the bomb up from beneath the outer crust of Tuchanka held up the bomb high in the air from two sides. He bent down to open the hatch below him. He reached inside and pulled a column of metal from the center of where he stood. Twisting the heavy metal, Tarquin heard the _hiss_ and loud _pops_ of unlatching steel all around him. If he was right about this, the trigger mechanism for the bomb would plummet down into the hole that Cerberus had dug and leave the core of the Q-bomb in-tact and useless, at least for the moment.

One joint of the structure didn't make the same sounds as the others, jamming and jarring itself. Victus growled as he made his way over to the malfunctioning section before he felt the sharp sting and super-heated cut of a blade on his back. Stumbling, he looked back to see the shimmering form of the Cerberus Shadow reveal itself. Victus shook his head has he held his side. He didn't have time for this.

Running to the broken joint, Tarquin had less than a second to grasp the edge of the sparking metal before the _searing_ pain of the Shadow's sword entered his back, slicing through muscle and organ tissue as it burst through his side. Grunting in pain, the Turian Lieutenant flung himself over the side of the excavation structure with the Shadow on his back, twisting the blade further into him. Dark blue blood poured from his wound as he removed the metal maintenance hatch. Reaching inside, Tarquin pulled the first stability support cylinder from its place. The structure rocked back and forth unevenly.

Alexis looked up from her position on the ground as the last assault trooper fell. She saw Lieutenant Victus hanging off of the support structure of the bomb with a woman hanging off of him.

"Lieutenant!"

Victus looked down to the battlefield. Of the forty-five men he led into this death-trap, seven remained, thanks to the efforts of the Alliance team. He knew he would meet the men who had died on this planet soon, and he would make sure he memorized every one of their names and faces. He reached into the maintenance hatch again, grasping the last stability cylinder as he felt the blade in his back twisting once again.

Pushing through the insufferable _agony_ in his gut, he only thought of the one person who had come to be the idol of his military career. Thousands of kilometers above Tuchanka's surface, his father's head lowered as he couldn't bear to watch.

"Victory… at any cost!"

With another twist and pull of his arm, the support cylinder was released from its place to fall down to the ground. A lurching groan was heard from the structure shortly before the metal supports collapsed into the gaping hole along with the outer trigger mechanism for the Q-bomb just seconds before it detonated. Tarquin and the Cerberus Shadow fell with the tumbling metal into the darkness of the dig site.

Major General Alexis Kane huffed and panted, wiping the sweat-slicked gray-blonde hair from her face as she looked up to the core of the now disabled bomb. It was being held in place by the skeleton of the excavation apparatus, glowing a while light as it hung in the air.

The sound of heaving breath and shifting dirt caught her ears. Kane looked to the side to see EDI and several Turian soldiers hoisting a black clad body up onto the stone platform on which they stood. Panic shot through her chest as she saw Kasumi's limp form held in EDI's arms. Images of hazel eyes and tanned skin flashed through her mind.

" _Kas_!"

She shouted as she dropped the Widow rifle to the ground and bolted across the stone. The A.I. cradled the smaller Human's form to her front.

"She is fine, Major General. Her vitals are stable."

A wave of relief washed over her as she reached a gloved hand out to stroke the messy black locks of hair on her former trainee's head. Emerald green eyes couldn't help but notice the display of emotion, yet Jane held her tongue as she lifted herself up onto the raised stone stage.

Commander Shepard looked up to the bulky core of the bomb hanging above them. They had done it, yet of the eight Turians that they had accompanied to the bomb site, only seven were present.

"Where's Lieutenant Victus?"

Silence permeated the air as the remaining members of the Ninth Platoon lowered their heads. Jane's eyes widened as she pushed past them to stare down into the black of the hole dug into the surface of Tuchanka. Shaking her head, Shepard lifted a finger to the receiver in her ear as an expression of melancholy painted her face.

"Joker."

'I read you, ma'am.'

"Prep the Normandy for retrieval. We have a big package to deliver to the Citadel. Hopefully we can find a better use for this bomb than what it was gonna be used for here."

'Roger that. ETA two minutes.'


	29. Mourning

**Disclaimer: Most of the characters and all of the locations, technologies, concepts, etc that appear in this story are property of Bioware/EA.**

* * *

 **This is War**

"Slight neural damage, moderate concussion, spinal trauma… All injuries accounted for. She should be awake in a few hours."

Alexis sighed and gripped Kasumi's arm tighter as flashes of hazel eyes filled her mind before allowing her hand to fall to her armored side. The thief was laid out before her on the medical bed. The stained black suit she normally wore was cleaned and folded neatly on the table beside her. She turned to look at Doctor Chakwas at the foot of the medical bed, melancholy in her blue eyes.

"Thank you, Doctor."

The reply hung in the air, as if she wanted to say more. She didn't. Kane simply stood staring at the thief's unconscious form. Karin took in the expression she wore. This woman was struggling with something. The Doctor wanted to say something, allow Kane to vent, yet with the current occupants of the medbay she knew it wouldn't have been appreciated. Instead, she rounded the bed's corner to place a hand on Alexis' padded arm as it held the frame of the bed before her.

"Go get some rest. I'll tell you when she's awake."

"Former team member. Emotional attachment. Will ensure Miss Goto's recovery."

Doctor Mordin Solus smiled from his position at the opposite side of the bed. The Major General nodded at the gentle reassurances. Sparing one last concerned look at Kasumi, Alexis turned fully around and began making her way out of the medbay after giving a nod to Padok Wiks and Eve –the latter of which gave her a curious and worried glance. Doctor Chakwas brought forth her omni-tool and opened a private video channel.

Exiting the medbay, Alexis rushed to the port observation lounge, pain obvious on her face. Her hands ripped and pulled at the buckles and straps of her armor. She needed to get out of this _fucking_ suit.

* * *

"Are you _sure_ she wanted to talk to me?"

'She specifically asked for you. As I said, you'll find her in the port observation lounge.'

Communications Specialist Samantha Traynor shook her head and huffed in irritation as the call with Doctor Chakwas cut off before she could even reply. Why would the Major General ask Karin to ask _her_ to meet her? If anything, she expected Kane to at least call her herself. She didn't seem the type to ask by proxy.

Samantha frowned in confusion as the door of the central Normandy elevator opened to reveal the large memorial wall. Stopping for several seconds to regard the names upon the monument, Sam turned to her right to walk down the hallway to the lounge. Suppressing the pang of apprehension in her gut, Samantha approached the metal door, allowing it to silently slide open. Taking one step into the lounge, the Specialist immediately felt the impact of an object on her boot. Jumping slightly and looking down, it seemed to be a deep blue carbon fiber shoulder plate. Her frown deepened as her gaze came up to follow the trail of similarly colored armor pieces, all leading to a sight that caught her completely by surprise.

"T-Traynor?"

Alexis was hunched over herself, gloved hands at the shin plate on her leg and eyes glassy. Half of the body armor she wore was strewn around the couch where she sat; leaving the disjointed plates that still adorned her form and the black reinforced fiber undersuit.

"Major General…?"

"What're you doing here?"

There was an unmistakable quiver in Kane's voice. Her expression was of shocked anguish; her eyes betrayed a _deep_ ache while tears ran down her pale cheeks.

"D-… Doctor Chakwas told me… that you wanted to see me…?"

Alexis' countenance twisted into a visage of befuddlement. After a moment, she shook her head, blonde-gray locks of hair falling out of the bun on the back of her head. She bent down again to desperately fiddle with the latches holding the armor plate to her shin.

"You should leave…"

Samantha looked in confusion and empathy at the Major General. She'd seen this woman take off a Marauder's head one hundred yards away (through hardsuit displays, of course), yet here she was, _crying_.

A moment passed in silence. Kane's hands were shaking terribly trying to pry the reinforced plate off of her leg. Smooth, tanned hands found their way upon her gloved hands. With gentle pressure, Samantha pulled Alexis' hands away from her leg and began accurately unhooking the buckles that held the armor together. Alexis stared at the Specialist where she knelt before her.

"Trayn-"

"I'm not going to ask."

Kane blinked in surprise at the interruption. With a few deft movements, the plate was unlatched and removed to be gently set on the steel floor. Light chocolate met sky blue in a tender gaze.

"Everyone has their own pain… and everyone deals with it in their own way. I'm not going to pretend to know what you're going through, because… I don't. Hopefully not yet, at least."

Sam smiled sadly as she went about unhooking the dark kneepad in front of her, shifting her eyes down briefly to see what she was doing before lifting them back up to Kane's face.

"But… It helps… to have someone there. Either to listen or to just… _be_ there."

Alexis could only look down in astonishment at the young woman as she silently debated with herself. It had been a _long_ time since she'd truly opened herself up to anyone. Not since she was with her old squad close to ten years prior. Why did she feel compelled to now? To this woman whom she'd known for little more than a week? Alexis would admit that Sam was attractive, and initially thought her demeanor sweet (if a tad shy). But looking at her now, it was easy to see the kind-hearted look in her eyes that hid a deep patience and understanding.

Just from her eyes alone, Kane knew she could trust this woman. The extent to which that trust could run was still a thing to be seen, but right _now_ …

A quiet gasp escaped Samantha's throat as she felt partially armored arms wrap around her shoulders. The Comms Specialist was pulled into a carbon fiber chest plate and heard a sharp sob from above. After several long moments, Sam was released from the vice-like grip as Alexis sniffled.

"S-sorry…"

The corners of Samantha's mouth perked up.

"Don't be. Everyone needs a hug every now and again. Now, how's about we get this armor off."

The smile on her face dropped as surprise and embarrassment colored her cheeks at what she'd just said.

"T-that is if you _want_ any help with it! I'd understand if you still want me to lea-!"

A hand on her clothed shoulder stopped her mid-sentence. Sky-blue pools looked down to the metal flooring beneath them. Salty droplets stained the floor.

"I… I almost lost someone close to me today. Because I… I wasn't _there_ to protect them."

Dark eyebrows rose slightly.

"Miss Goto…?"

The silvery locks on the Major General's head bounced softly as she nodded.

"But… she'll be alright. With both Doctor Solus and Doctor Chakwas looking after her, I'd imagine she'll come out of that medbay with a few upgrades to boot!"

Sam smiled in an attempt to lighten the mood, but the sullen expression on Alexis' face was disheartening. Kane shook her head.

"I wasn't there… I should've…"

She put a gloved hand to her mouth in an attempt to suppress another sob from escaping her throat. She took a moment to collect herself, to keep herself from going into hysterics. Traynor simply waited to allow the Major General to continue. After another quiet sniff, clouded eyes looked up to chocolate brown.

"'Ria is gone… because I wasn't there…"

"'Ria?"

Kane nodded her head.

"My niece… on Mars…"

The Specialist's eyes widened. She had read Liara's write up on what happened at the Mars Archives. There had apparently been no survivors aside from the former archaeologist herself. Her heart went out to the poor woman before her. She was obviously close to her niece. To have someone of such substantial importance in one's life suddenly leave it, and not even know it until after the fact…

Sam removed the knee plate and quietly set it on the floor. She may not have before, but she now understood. Whatever Kasumi was to the Major General, seeing her injured and reside unconscious within the medbay had hit a raw and exposed nerve.

"You love her, don't you? Your 'Ria?"

The softly spoken question made dark blonde brows knit together.

"Of course I do. With all my heart."

"Then she isn't really gone, is she."

Glassy blue eyes stared at Samantha for several seconds before Alexis' gloved hands came up to wipe at her eyes. A small, humorless smile graced her lips as a quivering breath exited her lungs.

"She'll always be with me if I remember her… right?"

All she got in reply was a soft smile. The Specialist began unhooking the straps holding the dark blue armor on Kane's thigh.

"When my parents were taken, when I found out… what they were _used_ for…"

Light brown eyes slid shut as Samantha remembered that day. The day more than six months ago when she'd pushed the barrel of her pistol to her temple and was so _frighteningly_ close to squeezing the trigger.

"At that time… my biggest regret was not being there to defend them. Not being able to _do_ anything, literally."

She looked back up to Kane's glassy sky-blue eyes, a small and hopeful smile on her lips.

"Then I started thinking… maybe it was for the best."

Another flustered expression washed over Sam's darkly tanned face.

"N-not them dying, of course! But… me _not_ getting taken by the Collectors as well. If Horizon hadn't received help from Commander Shepard when it did… I wouldn't be here, helping some of the best the galaxy has to offer."

A mirthful smirk came to Alexis' tear-streaked face.

"Seems Shepard can't help but get herself involved in everyone's lives."

Traynor laughed quietly, happy to have finally wrung a genuine expression of jollity from the Major General.

"Apparently it's a habit of hers. But, getting back to my point… Sometimes things happen that are out of our control, and we're forced to go along with them because life has other plans for us. And I know my parents wouldn't want me sulking about when there's work to be done. That's just… how they were. How I'll always remember them."

The soft _pop_ of the last buckle bounced off of the metal and plastic walls of the port observation lounge as the Specialist placed the leg guard on the floor next to the pieces she'd already removed. Sam looked back up to Alexis' face from where she knelt.

"Would your niece want you feeling this way…?"

A moment passed in complete silence. Maria wouldn't have wanted her to cry to herself, alone in a dark corner. That's the _last_ thing her beloved niece would want. Alexis knew that.

"She'd… want me to try my damnedest to make sure no one else dies."

"And is that what you're going to do?"

Another smile painted Traynor's face and Alexis couldn't help but mimic the expression. The glint in her eyes alone was enough. She could trust this woman. Kane nodded her head, gray-blonde strands bouncing in front of her teary eyes.

"…With everything that I am."

* * *

"Commander… I-"

Primarch Adrien Victus couldn't even begin his sentence before Jane grabbed him by his collar, glaring _furiously_ at him through emerald green eyes.

"You know, sometimes I get why the Krogan just want to _shoot_ everyone in sight!"

A sharp metallic _shing_ was heard behind her before Jane felt the cold metal of an edged blade against the back of her neck.

"Unhand the Primarch. Immediately."

"Kassaran, please…"

Adrien shook his head as he gazed past Shepard to look at the cabal warrior. Ankara glowered at the sullen expression on his face before retracting her venom tipped claws. Jane released her hold on the Primarch's suit, yet held her glare steady, expectant and impatient.

"Commander, please understand. The decision of placing the bomb wasn't my own. It was a choice made by men long before you or I were born."

Jane scoffed and folded her arms.

" _Why_ keep this from me, Primarch? What benefit was it to you to keep my team and I in the dark on something _this_ important?"

Turning his head downward, the Primarch stared at the metal flooring beneath them for several seconds before bringing his gaze back up to Shepard.

"I couldn't allow the details of the Ninth's mission to circulate before the situation was contained. Had their goal been accomplished as it was planned, we most likely wouldn't be having this conversation now."

"But we _are_. If you'd have told me about this sooner, we would've prepared more appropriately and your _son_ most likely would still be alive!"

Adrien's eyes squeezed shut. Jane could see him struggle valiantly against the obvious sorrow that tinted his face.

"You… may be right about that, Commander. Tarquin died because… of _my_ mistake. But he accomplished his mission. And the few men under his command who survived will tell his story to future members of the fleet. He will be remembered as a hero of the Ninth Platoon… as the hero who… _saved_ Tuchanka."

Victus' eyes opened to look into Jane's for a few moments before turning to lean against the holographic display at the center of the war room.

"All he ever wanted… was to gain my praise. I may not have been the best father I could've been… but believe me when I say…"

Shepard watched as the Primarch hunched over himself, giving a hard stare at the blue holo-map before him, depicting the desolate surface of Tuchanka.

"… That I couldn't be more proud of him if I tried."

"The whelp tried his best. In the end, that's all any father can hope for."

Urdnot Wrex's gruff voice sounded from across the war room as he turned to lean up against his own console to look at the Primarch. Jane turned to gaze across the holo-map to her former squad member.

"I thought you'd be a little more agitated at the situation, Wrex."

A rough chuckle came up from the large Krogan's throat.

"I already gave my two credits. No point in dwelling on could haves and would haves. So, what's this bomb gonna be used for? Now that it's not gonna blow up my planet."

Jane turned to the holographic display, waving her hand over the map. The surface of Tuchanka disappeared and was replaced with the core of the Q-bomb they had recovered.

"Right now, it's going back to the Citadel. In its current state, it's little more than an oversized nuclear battery. Hopefully we'll be able to send it to Admiral Hackett. The Crucible engineers might have some use for it."

Lifting herself from the war room holo-display, Shepard turned to make her way out of the room. She didn't notice the frown shot in her direction by green, cat-like eyes.

"Joker! Set a course for the Serpent Nebula. And keep her steady, we don't want our gift ta' go off mid-flight."

'I thought the thing was harmless now?'

"It is. However, the ordinance within the bomb core is still highly volatile and susceptible to detonation from significant blunt force trauma. Luckily, no weapons on board have the ability to achieve the amount of force necessary for ignition."

Jane smiled at EDI's synthetic voice as she made her way through the meeting room and to the security scanner.

'Turians built their equipment to last, I guess. Over a thousand years and it's still tickin'. Anyway, ETA to the Citadel: two hours and fifteen minutes, Commander.'

The red-head sighed as she entered the scanning room.

"Commander!"

The security officers saluted their Captain enthusiastically. The Commander smiled and returned the salute.

"At ease."

Stepping into the holographic net, Jane waited several seconds for the scan to complete. She silently made a mental note to ask EDI to upgrade the tech within the security scanner, the damned thing felt like it took _forever_ to properly scan. She came out into the CIC, watching the various officers and crewmen going about their usual tasks.

"Commander!"

Jane turned toward the central elevator at the sound of her rank again and saw Specialist Samantha Traynor exiting the metal door, hand lifted to her head in proper form. Shepard raised a hand again in another salute.

"Specialist. You seem happy."

Sam smiled brightly as she returned to her post next to the galaxy map.

"Just… realizing a few things. But, how're you doing? The things that went on down there… I can't imagine its easy, watching people give themselves like that without hesitation."

Jane gave a grave smile, watching Samantha lean herself against her terminal.

"When there's no other option, we do what we must. The Lieutenant sacrificed himself for his mission. We can only hope to not let it be in vain."

The communications Specialist nodded solemnly before turning to her own terminal. Jane stepped past Samantha and made her way over to the elevator. She would need to put in a requisition order for a new shotgun. Surely the schematic was somewhere in the armory-

"Oh, Commander! Liara wanted to speak with you in your cabin, when you have the time."

Shepard stopped herself in slight surprise on her way to the elevator before continuing with a grin on her face. A surge of warmth filled her breast as she entered and input the command for the elevator to ascend to the captain's cabin. Jane would have to remember to send a message to Lieutenant Cortez about a new weapon later.


	30. Light

**Disclaimer: Most of the characters and all of the locations, technologies, concepts, etc that appear in this story are property of Bioware/EA.**

 **Warning: This chapter contains relatively explicit consensual sexual content featuring a Human female and a slightly not-so Human female.**

* * *

 **This is War**

Liara smiled as she held the small, darkly colored device in her hands while she rode the elevator up to her Commander's cabin. What she had originally planned was far more… _passionate_ than what she was now going to do. But seeing Jane out on Tuchanka, watching _her Jane_ get shot at, sliced at… seeing her nearly _die_ over a dozen times in the span of just a few _seconds_ had dampened the rampant fire within her and made her think about something.

 _A promise for the future…_

She remembered her words in that moment. She had meant something _entirely_ different when she had shot her best attempt at a sultry look in her lover's flustered direction, but thinking on it for some time, she'd decided to do something more. More meaningful, more significant.

And hopefully Jane would allow her to speak before she pinned her to the wall and did _unspeakable_ things to her as punishment (or _reward_ ) for her previous behavior. As tantalizing as the thought was, she would need to wait. The Asari wanted to do this before anything else.

The door of the elevator slid open and Liara briskly walked out to gently tap a knuckle on the entrance to the captain's cabin. The door immediately opened and revealed Jane walking out from her desk area, giving the Shadow Broker a tender smile.

"Liara, come in."

She wasn't instantly assaulted, so that was a good sign at least. Liara returned the smile and stepped forward into the cool air of the cabin.

"Thank you… Could… we sit?"

She sent a hopeful glance at Jane with her question. Shepard shot a playful smirk at her lover as they descended down the small flight of stairs to turn toward the couch.

"Not gonna give me the main course? I seem to remember a rather _delicious_ appetizer you cooked up earlier…"

The Commander smirked as she moved to place a kiss at Liara's jaw. The Asari managed to suppress a giggle as she set the object she'd been holding down on the coffee table before them, a wide grin on her lips

"I may serve a more proportional 'helping'… but I've been thinking…"

Jane came up next to her lover as the Asari knelt down and began fiddling with the small box she had carried in with her. The device beeped quietly as a blue holographic display projected.

"About…?"

The smile that was on Liara's mouth was replaced with a small frown as she worked the interface. She looked up briefly to observe Shepard. Her Jane was covered in white bandages along her face and neck, no doubt with even more strewn about on her body hidden by the blue officer uniform she normally wore. She knew the wounds would fade and the wrappings would come off soon, but their presence only filled Liara's heart with dread.

"The frailty of our situation. We… we could end up dead at _any time_."

"Liara-"

The Shadow Broker shook her head and responded before Jane could continue.

"Shepard, I know I shouldn't think that way, but we need to face reality. Watching you… put your life on the line every time you leave this ship…"

Liara felt a hand on her back, rubbing warm and reassuring circles through the fabric of her white coat.

"I made promise…"

Another smile made its way onto her face. Her Jane was always critical about her actions. Always hounding herself over everything she did, everything she said. It was one of the qualities that Liara had found so very endearing about the red-head. She always thought so hard on what to say and how to say it. And Liara couldn't be more appreciative of her lover even if she tried.

"I know… but this extends beyond us as well. All the knowledge we've gathered on the Reapers, on the Crucible… how everything could be lost so easily."

"Not if we win this thing."

Liara also knew her Jane had an _unwavering_ optimism that only gave way in the rarest of situations when she was alone with someone she trusted wholly and completely. She couldn't keep the affectionate smile from her face as her lover sat down on the couch beside where she knelt.

"I don't doubt you, oh fearless leader of ours. But precautions need to be made. So, I set certain events into motion."

With a few more taps on the blue display before her, a small light began emanating from the top of the device. A thin beam of light blue shot up to the ceiling, bathing the cabin in a soft glow before dispersing. Around the couple, small blips of light were visible throughout the room, blinking into and out of existence. Jane had a small grin on her face as she observed the impromptu light show.

"Pretty. What is it?"

Liara tapped at the device again as she turned to her Jane.

"A record. I copied all of the data from my servers and networks into these drives and sent them out to my teams. They understand what we're up against, and what awaits us if we fail. So, I gave the order to begin seeding them all throughout the galaxy."

" _All_ the info in your network?"

The Shadow Broker nodded. It had taken quite a while to pour through her information storages and pick and choose what got saved, even with Glyph's help (of course, she'd also managed to root out some of Kasumi's programs in places where they shouldn't be).

"Most of it, anyway. Data on the Reapers, relays, Citadel, cultures, languages, governmental structures… anything and everything that was important, including the blueprints for the Crucible."

Jane leaned back against the cushion; crossing one leg over another as she looked at the various holograms the device displayed as Liara spoke. It was a smart idea. Shepard tried to be confident about their fate, but if she were completely honest with herself, Liara was right. Something _could_ go wrong and send them on an irreversible path to destruction in the blink of an eye.

"So… it's an information guide, like Vigil on Illos. Hehe… I knew I kept you around for a reason."

Liara laughed quietly at the light-hearted humor before turning her gaze back to the drive.

"Although, I'm still not finished updating just one last entry…"

"Which one?"

Impossibly deep blue irises met green again. A small smile played upon dark blue lips.

"Yours."

The device beeped again and displayed another hologram. Jane's eyes widened as she saw a miniature version of herself staring up at her on top of the foot-ball sized hard drive.

"I… would be _honored_ to have your input."

Jane stared raptly at her blue lover. She wanted people to remember her… Jane felt her heart swell at the prospect of Liara wanting others to know who she was.

"Liara…"

She felt her throat strain as she tumbled over her words before they even left her mouth. She didn't know what to say. All her life, Shepard had felt like she wasn't worth remembering. After what she'd done… there was _so much_ blood on her hands that she didn't feel worthy of the praise she'd received in the galaxy. To have this woman, this _wonderful_ Asari love her like this…

Jane wiped at her eyes before any drops fell from them and looked to her blue-hued miniature before her. Liara was patiently waiting, a smile on those beautiful lips the entire time. She wanted to be honest, and she knew the best way to do it.

"You know me well enough, Liara. Go ahead."

The former archaeologist drew a sharp breath as she stared in surprise at her Commander.

"What? Are you sure?"

Jane nodded as her eyes bored into sapphire pools.

"Of course… you're one of the most important people in my life, and I trust you like no one else."

Liara felt her insides clench with warmth and delight as heat made its way onto her face and colored her cheeks at the sheer sincerity of the gaze that was directed at her. She hadn't quite expected this response, but she smiled through her blush and turned her face downward as she stood up.

"Alright… let's start with the mildly ironic fact that one of Earth's most famous officers was born and raised in space. And that she was one of the most powerful biotic soldiers to date, rivaling even the highest ranks of the Asari in terms of brute force. _Nothing_ got in her way as she charged forward into battle, fighting valiantly for those she cared for."

Jane beamed a smile at Liara as she spoke. It gave her no small amount of happiness that the one she cared for the _most_ was standing right before her.

"She'd been forced time and time again to make decisions that would have crippled a lesser person, but she _never_ let her past define her future. Her will was _iron_ , as was her determination. She'd stumbled many times, but each time she would pick herself up and stand stronger and steadier than before."

"With some help from her noble crew."

Jane added with a smirk. Liara giggled lightly as she nodded.

"Yes, her crew also aided in her endeavors. However, their Commander was their pillar. Their _center_. She was more than a soldier. She always gave her enemies a way out before they would force her hand. She never took life that did not deserve to be taken, had she the choice to do so. She was a leader, one who made peace where she could and held firm where she couldn't."

The former archaeologist gave another affectionate stare at her lover.

"And it was a privilege to know her."

Jane's smile widened as her Liara stalked over to sit down next to her on the couch.

"You sure this isn't a diary entry?"

"Hah, I can't help myself. You're a good woman, and the most genuine person I know."

"I could say the same about you."

A thought crossed Liara's mind at Shepard's response and the serene look of happiness on her features fell away to a glower as she stared down at the floor beneath them.

"I wish that were true…"

"Liara…"

The Shadow Broker turned to her bronze-haired love, emotion clear in her expressive eyes.

"I wanted to join you on Illium. The _second_ I'd received news of your docking on Nos Astra, I had to _lock my door_ to keep myself from rushing out to hold you again. And when we were face to face, instead of supporting you I-"

A calloused hand came up to cup her cheek. A warm thumb brushed at the soft, smooth skin there as Jane leveled a stare at Liara that was so vivid that her mental functions came to a brief halt.

"We've talked about this… Why bring it up again?"

Liara sighed as she brought her own hand up, quickly removing the glove. Jane felt her hand encased within her lover's soft fingers.

"When you said I… I was one of the most important people in your life…"

Tears formed at the corners of those eyes that Jane loved so much.

"Do you know how… _happy_ it made me?"

A heartfelt smile stretched her lips as pure joy coursed through the Commander's body. Her other hand rose to mirror its twin on the opposite cheek of her blue baby's face.

"As happy as I am whenever you so much as _look_ at me."

Emerald met sapphire as the couple moved closer to one another. Liara could feel a warm mind bumping lightly against hers and she pushed back in an affectionate caress that was only known to her and her love.

"I don't know if I can do this without you, Liara… I need you…"

A sob of emotion erupted from the Asari's throat as she moved forward to fuse those perfect lips with her own. They moved against each other in a mad dance of passion and want, soft _smacking_ and _popping_ resounding quietly as Liara's arms wound themselves around Shepard's torso. Jane's hands slipped to the back of her lover's head, softly massaging the sensitive blue folds on her neck, and tickling the edges and ends of the scalp crests on her head.

The feeling was so very _pleasant_ that Liara couldn't hold back a longing moan of delight. The sound left her mouth open and Jane took the opportunity to plunge into the warm, wet cavern, running her tongue along the Asari's teeth and the roof of her mouth before it found its violet playmate.

Their dance lasted only for a few more seconds before Jane pulled back just far enough to stare into irises as deep and blue as the many oceans on Earth. Not a moment passed before those eyes faded into solid black. Jane instantly allowed her Asari entrance into her mind. In less than a second, Liara felt _everything_ her Jane had to offer.

Warmth surrounded her, delicately caressing her consciousness as she dove deeper. Liara could feel the frantic emotion that ran through her lover during her last battle. Pain, fear, horror… resignation. She was afraid, so alarmingly _afraid_. Liara could see tears spring to life in Jane's eyes as she swam about in her love's mind.

 _If it weren't for Kasumi…_

 _Jane…_

Liara's ungloved hands placed themselves upon the sides of Jane's neck, gently massaging the taut muscle beneath smooth skin. The Asari leaned up to lay her lips on her lover's face, kissing away the tears as they fell.

 _I… I almost..._

 _But you didn't. You're here._

The former archaeologist cradled Shepard's head in her hands, softly resting her forehead against Jane's.

 _You're alive._

Another soft peck against full, pink lips.

 _And you're_ here.

A surge of raw passion emanated from her lover's consciousness as Jane lunged forward to capture a soft, warm mouth again. The force was enough to send Liara down gently onto the couch, hands groping at the Commander's back. The Asari was only vaguely aware of the sound of buckles snapping as her white outer lab coat fell away onto the floor alongside Shepard's blue officer uniform jacket. She could feel salty wetness drip down onto her cheeks, yet from the full smile she felt on her Jane's lips and the warmth she was bathed in within their shared meld, she knew they were no longer tears of sadness.

Bronze locks tickled Liara's eyelids and the Asari couldn't help but giggle at the sensation. Jane pulled back slightly to stare down into solid black pools. Liara's smile only grew as she brought a hand up to thread her thin blue fingers through the sea of maroon tresses above her. Bursts of affection and adoration filled their shared consciousness, and Shepard couldn't help but lower herself again to place wet kisses on Liara's jaw, moving down to the hollow of her throat. Warm, blue fingers slid up underneath the fabric of her tank, sliding the black shirt up Shepard's torso and rubbing her fingers into the comparatively cooler skin of her lover's back as the Shadow Broker let loose a hoarse groan from the attention her neck was receiving.

Suddenly, the hand that was on her back had found its way to her belt, which had become undone was now on the floor with the steadily growing pile of clothes. Before Jane could even process what was happening, those delightfully warm fingers were within her pants, sliding underneath the waistband of the briefs she wore after giving a quick and gentle caress to her lower abdomen.

"Aaah!"

A breathy gasp made it past Jane's lips as she was invaded by slim fingers. The warm palm of her lover's hand ground against the bud of flesh just below the red curls on her pelvis. Liara felt the sensations within her own azure, including the curious (yet entirely pleasant) feeling of her Jane's stimulated button as she thrust just a bit harder. Just a bit deeper.

Gone were the teasing touches and the playful demeanor Liara had held during their stillborn session on deck three. Liara _wanted_ her Jane. Her lover. Her _bond-mate_. The thought was so powerful that the object of her affections couldn't suppress the quaking shudder that set their spines aflame with tingling heat.

"Li-… Liara…!"

Jane thrust her hips in time with the Asari's fingers. Liara had to slow down just _so_ very slightly to see the look of pained pleasure on her lover's face above her. The freckles that dotted the Commander's face shifted and rippled with each movement of facial muscle. It was almost mesmerizing. Was this how she looked when Shepard took the lead?

 _As a matter of fact… yes._

Liara could see and feel the strained smirk on Jane's lips. The expression quickly melted away into a pleasured grimace as soft fingers began caressing a _wonderful_ spot within her.

 _I think I see the appeal of being... 'on top' now. I like it._

The Asari's own smirk revealed itself as Liara ground her hand into the increasingly moist depths of her lover. Her own core was _burning_ with need, confined by the quickly dampening material of the panties she wore beneath her undersuit. Blue wisps of dark energy radiated from Liara before Shepard found her uniform slacks pulled down her toned thighs along with her briefs.

The hand thrusting into her lit up with blue biotics, forcing a quivering moan from Jane's throat. The sensation was unlike _anything_ she had experienced before she'd met Liara. Of course she had experimented with her own biotics at times, but nothing she'd accomplished on her own could compare to Liara's precise manipulation of dark energy upon her heated flesh.

"H-hah… Jane…"

Emerald green looked down to see her lover's own face scrunched up in ecstasy. Liara was rolling her hips upward in synchronicity with the increasingly rapid movements of her hand. The Shadow Broker could feel Jane's _need_ drip down onto the front of her clothed crotch, and it suddenly became _so_ very stuffy in the Commander's cabin.

Without even removing her squirming hand, Liara reached down to unclip the buttons and buckles holding the white and gray under suit closed. The Asari brought her face back up to capture her Jane's soft pink lips, lifting herself off of the couch slightly to allow her biotics to pull the material from her body, revealing more and more cobalt colored skin. The red-head's hands aided in removing Liara's suit, tossing the upper portion of the fabric to the floor with the pile before moving her own hands down into the pants she wore. Jane could feel the warmth that radiated off of her lover's torso through the bunched up tank as she mewled into Liara's mouth.

Her hips bucked into the rough caresses within her core as Jane's own fingers found their way into the incredibly moist depths of her love's azure. Heated, swollen flesh tightened around her so hard that Shepard had a brief and humorous thought of her lover's genitals swallowing her hand whole. The absurd idea made a bubbling chuckle rise up from Liara's mouth.

The hand at her sex sped up while the softly glowing tendrils of biotics surrounded the couple. Jane felt her abdomen clench in zealous delight just as she felt Liara's thoughts blend themselves into her own. The Commander quickly reached her peak, tearing herself away from the maddeningly lovely lips that her own were just so infatuated with as every muscle in her body tightened and flexed

" **Lia-ra-haaah**!"

With a shrill cry, Jane's biotics flared out to taste the air and join the already swirling vortex of Liara's making. The evidence of Shepard's excitement ran down her thighs, making liquid paths down to pool onto the leathery material of the couch below them. Liara's consciousness became a jumbled mess of emotion and passion as her clothed thighs strained with her release, lifting her up as her teeth sank down into the tender flesh connecting Jane's neck to her shoulder, not hard enough to pierce but enough to mark the freckled skin. The Asari could feel the phantom impression in her own shoulder, adding to the already intense maelstrom of overwhelming sensations that forced tears of exertion to form at the edges of her eyes.

Another shuddering breath left pink lips as the Commander collapsed onto her lover. Heavy breathing filled the air of the captain's cabin while blue biotics receded back into their respective origins. Jane could feel one last gentle twist of the warm mind within her head before Liara separated their meld. It took a monumental effort to just lift her head up to allow her bright green eyes to bore into deep blue. A wide and tired smile adorned her freckled face as sweat soaked hair stuck to her forehead.

"Hah… Maybe I should let you take control more often…"

The smile was matched by a smirk that pulled at glistening blue lips.

"I'm… not opposed to the idea…"

Shepard grinned at pulled herself up to snuggle herself into the warm throat before her. Jane sighed in complete bliss as delicate indigo arms wrapped around her torso and shoulders, cradling her in a soft embrace. Liara closed her eyes as she held her Commander in her arms before opening her mouth in a quiet yawn.

"Ahh… Mmh, EDI?"

"Yes, Liara?"

EDI's synthetic voice gently resounded throughout the cabin.

"How long before we arrive at the Citadel?

"ETA to the Serpent Nebula is approximately one hour and thirty two minutes, including standard docking procedures with the Citadel."

Shepard nuzzled herself further into the blue flesh of her Asari's neck, sighing again as a hand came up to brush itself into the red mane on her head.

"Good… Shepard and I will be taking a break together, please have any issues that are not of immediate importance filed down for later."

"As you wish."

A soft giggle sounded from below Liara's chin.

"Hehe… want me all to yourself?"

The arms around Jane tightened slightly as Liara shifted herself to gain a more comfortable position on the couch.

"We have two years to make up… I don't want to waste a _second_."

Another smile perked the corners of her mouth upward as Jane breathed in the wonderfully familiar scent of sweat, lilac and honey.

"Good… because neither do I."

* * *

"Starting shore leave early, huh? Lucky…"

Joker said as he adjusted the blue cap on his head. EDI turned to look at him through her holographic visor.

"The Commander _is_ under a significant amount of stress, according to metabolic scans from her hardsuit computers. Any stress on her part would understandably have an effect on Doctor T'soni."

The bearded pilot waved his hand in the air.

"Yeah yeah, I'm just sayin', being on top has its perks, apparently."

The orange visor before her eyes blinked several times.

"In more ways than one…"

"Eh? What was that?"

A soft smile made its way onto her face as the A.I. stared forward again, bringing up several new holographic windows in front of her station beside the central pilot's seat.

"Nothing… Jeff, there is a stand-up comedy performance at the newly opened 'Ryuusei Sushi' bar and grill on the SilverSun Strip on the Citadel. Seats are limited, but I can obtain a pair, if you wish to attend."

Joker's brow rose as he glanced over at his co-pilot before allowing a grin to spread his bearded face.

"Can you even eat in that thing?"

The A.I. took a moment before her visor blinked again.

"This body was designed for infiltration purposes, and spent an entire week among Humans who could not tell it was an android. This unit is equipped with simulated gustation receptors, and deposits sufficiently chewed food stuffs into an internal incineration compartment in place of a Human stomach, where processed material can be used as an emergency back-up power source. So… yes I can, in fact, eat."

Joker's low chuckle bounced around the cockpit of the SSV Normandy SR2 for a second before turning to throw a smile at his companion.

"Cerberus was pretty thorough with that thing, huh. Well, if you wanna go, I'm down."

EDI nodded her head as she swiped her hand over the glowing interfaces. Her visor blinked several times again, her bright silver eyes gleaming with a twinge of something that was inherently unfamiliar to the former Cerberus A.I. Nevertheless, Joker's response made a pleased smile decorate her lips.

"It is a date, then."


	31. Dance

**Disclaimer: Most of the characters and all of the locations, technologies, concepts, etc that appear in this story are property of Bioware/EA.**

* * *

 **This is War**

"Lieutenant-Commander Ashley Williams - step forward."

Ashley clenched her jaw and stood at the edge of the platform before the Citadel Council.

"It is the decision of the Council that you be granted all powers and privileges of the Special Tactics and Reconnaissance branch of the Citadel."

Councilor Tevos said. The various embassy leaders on the high balconies of the Council Chambers looked down at the scene.

"SECTRES are not trained, but chosen. Individuals forged in the fire of service and battle, those whose actions elevate them _above_ the rank and file."

Councilor Valern stated as he crossed his arms.

"SPECTRES are an ideal, a _symbol_. The embodiment of courage, determination, and self-reliance. They are the right hand of the Council, instruments of our will."

Tevos stared down at the Lieutenant-Commander, a small smile on her lips.

"SPECTRES bear a great burden. They are protectors of galactic peace, both our first and our _last_ line of defense. The safety of the galaxy is theirs to uphold."

Councilor Sparatus said in a stern voice, placing his hands behind his back.

"You are the second Human SPECTRE. As such, you are one of the cornerstones for your species as members of the galactic community. Hold your head high and be proud of your accomplishment."

Councilor Udina said with an uncharacteristically candid smile. Williams breathed a soft sigh and bowed her head respectfully.

"You honor me, Councilors."

"At present, you're to remain on the Citadel. You may participate in whatever activity and equipment procurement as you see fit while we sort out where to send operatives. Thanks to the invasion it is becoming… difficult assessing the situation."

Ashley looked up to Tevos' position at the stage of the Council chambers.

"I trust in your judgment, Councilor."

The Asari looked down at her podium before returning her gaze to the newly inducted Human SPECTRE. A small smirk adorned her white-marked lips.

"This meeting of the Council is adjourned."

Ashley allowed another breath she'd been holding to pass through her esophagus. She was a SPECTRE now. Arguably the highest ranking position in the galaxy apart from the Council itself. She could hardly believe it. It felt like just days ago when she'd been standing here, watching her Commander be the subject of the same ceremony.

The four Council members began taking their leave from their positions on the raised, stage-like platform. Running a gloved hand over her face, Williams turned from the central platform to walk back down the stairs of the Chambers. She didn't quite know what this would mean or where her new position would take her, but there was no other place she'd rather be than-

"Ashley."

A familiar voice made her eyes snap up to lock onto an equally familiar blue face, smiling that pleasant smile she was almost known for.

"Liara! You and Shepard making it a habit of surprising me?"

The Shadow Broker laughed quietly as she began walking with Williams down the steps.

"Ehehe, surprise is the spice of life, or so they say. I must congratulate you on your newly obtained position."

Ashley smiled sheepishly as she brought a hand to the back of her neck, rubbing slightly underneath the flowing river of brown strands on her head.

"Thanks… It… feels strange. For the longest time I thought I'd never… _get_ anywhere beyond Gunnery-Chief."

She felt a hand lay itself on her arm as the duo made their way around the large fountain at the entrance of the Council Chambers.

"The actions of our forebears do not have to dictate our paths forward. You've proven that family name has no bearing on our actions and accomplishments."

A silent chuckle left Ashley's mouth.

"Why are _you_ not on the Council yet? I'd bet you'd make one hell of a galactic leader."

The door to the elevator opened, revealing the metal, plastic and glass interior.

"Ahah, I may consider the position, should Tevos resign. But I think my skills would be put to better use from the Normandy."

The Asari said with an amused smile stretching her lips. The duo entered the elevator, allowing the glass door to close behind them.

"Speaking of the Normandy, where's Skipper? I'd figured you'd be conjoined at the hip where ever you go."

Another flowing titter resounded in the small space.

"While I feel being physically bound to another's hip would be counterproductive in certain situations, I understand your meaning. We'd just recently recovered what could be a valuable asset, but it's too early to tell. Shepard was overseeing its offloading from the Normandy to the Citadel."

"Well, I hope it helps."

Liara nodded as they turned to observe the vista of the Presidium reveal itself through the glass wall of the elevator.

"Indeed… If I may ask, how is your family faring, Ashley? Your mother and sisters?"

It was Williams' turn to smile, slightly bearing pearly white teeth.

"They got off of Earth. All of them. They're heading for the Citadel as we speak… they're okay."

A wide grin tugged at blue, freckled cheeks at the Lieutenant-Commander's reply.

"That's wonderful!"

Ash's face was suddenly awash with melancholy as her head turned down to the steel floor of the elevator.

"Yeah…"

"Ashley?"

Liara's brow knit together at her friend's expression. Shouldn't it be a good thing that her family was alive despite this mess? The newly inducted SPECTRE seemed to anticipate the inevitable question and turned toward Liara again.

"I told you about Sarah, right?"

The Asari nodded her crested head. Sarah was apparently the youngest of four daughters while Ashley was the oldest. She remembered quite a few stories about the Williams sister over the mess hall table on the SSV Normandy.

"Her husband's detachment was… wiped out during the initial assault. Confirmed KIA."

Liara's own expression fell at the hushed tone Williams uttered.

"Oh…"

The gentle touch of a hand upon a forearm.

"… I'm so sorry, Ashley."

"I told her about the memorial wall the refugees have set up in the emergency housing on the docking bays. Hopefully… it'll help her find some kind of peace in all this."

The gloved hand on her arm squeezed in soft reassurance and sympathy.

"She will be alright. She _is_ your sister, after all."

Ashley allowed a small, sullen smile to spread on her face. She turned from Liara to look out at the Presidium below, watching the many sky cars and Citadel residents make their ways to destinations unknown.

"'Ah, sad and strange as in dark summer dawns

The earliest pipe of half-awaken'd birds

To dying ears, when unto dying eyes

The casement slowly grows a glimmering square;

So sad, so strange, the days that are no more."

Liara knew of Ashley's familiarity with poetry. While she did not quite understand the significance of the stanza her friend had recited, a thought provoked her into quietly speaking.

"I understand you have some time to yourself, yes?"

Ash turned toward Liara again, meeting the bright blue eyes that seemed so very large.

"Yeah, I don't think the Council knows what to do with me just yet while they sort through everything going on."

Liara turned her gaze downward before bringing her eyes back up to Williams' tanned face.

"If you find it acceptable… I would like to learn more about Human poetry. I think you would make a most appropriate tutor on the subject. Again, only if you wish to."

Ashley stared at the Asari for several moments. No one had ever really come to her with a request like this before. Not since she'd been with the two-twelve of the Second-Frontier division more than two and a half years ago. After a second, a serene expression of happiness filled chocolate eyes.

"I'd love to. And I know a good spot in the commons where we could sit."

Just as she spoke, the door of the elevator opened to the Presidium and allowed the cool air to strike both women. Liara gave her own joyous smirk.

"Very well. Please, lead the way."

* * *

"So, what's all this?"

Commander Shepard said in a tone that could barely be heard over the loud, thumping bass line of the music of the Purgatory bar and dance club. The smell of alcohol was faint in the air (no doubt getting caught in air filters placed throughout the club) while dancers and drinkers milled about, either moving to the beat of the throbbing music or speaking amongst other club goers. Or both, of course. Iridescent beams of lights flickered to and fro above and below the dance floors, adding to the already energetic atmosphere.

The person Jane had spoken to looked up from the various data pads strewn about the table before her.

"Duty rosters for the kids. Gotta keep 'em busy otherwise I'll have C-sec on my ass for a bunch'a bored teenage biotics playin' catch with a bunch'a sky cars."

Jack said as she threw the pad she'd been holding down onto the table before taking the glass of Elcor vodka beside it in hand and downing half of its contents. The low ultraviolet light that blanketed the club made the alcoholic beverage glow in the dark as a few droplets escaped the tattooed biotic's lips to trickle down her marked throat. With a loud exhale, Jack placed the glass back down onto the table.

"Ahh! I'll admit this place has _much_ better drinks than the Batarian piss they had at Afterlife. Could use a few more strippers, though."

She said as she moved over on the couch she sat, allowing enough room for Jane to sit herself down beside the professor. Jane chuckled and crossed her legs underneath the table.

"Maybe you could buy out the space where Chora's Den used ta' be. I hear it's open for purchase."

The red-head took a sip from her own glass of Asari brewed whiskey. Jack barked out a laugh.

"Hah! I would if I could! But _I_ hear that someone's lookin' to start their own place there."

She nodded her partially shaved head over to the isolated booth across the club from where they sat; observing the Asari whose constant scowl was visible even from a distance.

"It's kinda satisfying seein' the queen bitch of Omega herself taken down a notch."

If Jane were being honest, it brought her a bit of amusement as well. Aria T'loak's less-than-desirable behavior six months ago had earned her no love from the Commander. Being reinstated, Shepard was both military _and_ a SPECTRE again. As such, she should've arrested the crime lord the moment she'd seen her in Purgatory, but the help she'd provided to the war effort in the form of mercenary soldiers and operatives in abundance (not to mention the curious exchange she'd seen between Aria and Councilor Tevos upon her arrival at the bar) had stayed Jane's hand.

"She'll adjust. We all have to make some sacrifices every now and then."

Jack snorted as she took a glance over at the bar on the opposite side of the club.

"On the topic of adjusting… You put a muzzle on _that_ cunt yet?"

The tattooed professor pointed to where she was looking. Jane followed her finger's direction and saw the back of the familiar silver armor gleaming in the dark of the club.

"I don't think I'll need to. She's been improving recently, at least as far as I can see."

Jack sneered at the High-Sergeant's form leaning over the bar before taking another swig of her drink, feeling the sweet tasting liquid burn a path down her throat and into her stomach.

"Ergh, well she'd better. Fighting something like the Reapers, can't afford ta' keep arguing over some stick up yer ass. Not while people are dying around you."

Jane nodded in silent agreement, turning to the former convict and flashing a glowing grin in the black light of the club.

"You really have grown, Jack. Good for you."

Shepard laid a hand onto the brown, studded jacket the biotic wore on her shoulders, patting it lightly. Jack smirked and lifted her glass again, consuming the last of her drink and smacking the bottom of the glass down onto the table.

"Yeah, well… Gotta be all responsible 'n shit 'cause of the kids now. Apparently I _am_ actually considered 'dependable' thanks ta' you."

Jane allowed a laugh to float past her lips as she took another sip of her whiskey before setting it down onto the table.

"It suits you. By the way, I delivered your little 'message'."

Jack's attention clearly perked up at this as her dark eyes looked at Jane, expectant and… was that anticipation?

"She says she… misses you."

The look was quickly replaced by a cackling laughter that had Jack falling back into the cushion.

"Pffhahahaha! Yeah, uh-huh! Sure! Is that what she _really_ said or are you just doing that thing you do, always tryin' ta' wring the best out of people or some shit like that."

Jane grinned and crossed her arms.

"I could be telling the truth. You're just gonna have ta' trust me."

The tattooed biotic shook her head and looked back down at the data pads on the table in front of her. She looked back up to Shepard with an atypically genuine smile.

"I guess so… and thanks."

"Don't mention it. Now, I'm on shore-leave. I didn't come here ta' talk about war, or kids, or Reapers."

The red-headed woman rose up from her seat, smirking devilishly down at Jack through emerald eyes.

"Wanna know what I'm here ta' do?"

The former convict raised a brow in curiosity before she found her wrist in Jane's hand, tugging immediately and lifting her up off of the couch. Sputtering and acting quickly, Jack grabbed Shepard's unfinished glass of alcohol, downing the rest of the whiskey and placing it onto the tray of a nearby server before being dragged up the staircase. The dance floor on the upper level was filled with club-goers, swaying and hopping to the beat of the heavy electronic bass vibrating through the air. Jane could feel her eardrums pulse with each downbeat and her chest rumble. Jack grinned widely as she took a glance at her former Commander.

"You've gotta be kidding me."

Jane said nothing, only shooting a sidelong look at the biotic professor before grabbing her wrist once again and leading her through the throngs of Citadel citizens and marines on shore leave. The energy within the crowd was palpable as the sound system of Purgatory pounded beneath their feet. Finding a suitable spot amongst the crowd, Shepard released Jack's hand and began bouncing and bopping to the beat of the music. Jack could only laugh before finally joining the Commander, raising her arms and swaying her hips. Shepard smiled and shimmied her arms, spinning her body and slightly losing her balance before righting herself again and continuing to move herself to the music.

"Ahaha! You should _really_ stick to fighting, Shepard!"

"Oh shush!"

Jack chuckled again as Jane took her tattooed hands, swaying and spinning her as the heavy bass thumped away around them.

* * *

"I do not… _head-butt_ people!"

Matriarch Aethyta laughed in amusement as she watched the angry purple blush make its way up to Liara's cheeks.

"Alright, alright. No need to go all bloodrage on me."

"Or what? You'll tell the Matriarchs and have them order a hit?"

The rebuttal made the elder Asari's expression suddenly turn grim and serious as she leaned over the counter of the café bar.

"Hey… That's not gonna happen. Besides…"

She took an accusatory glance at the red-head standing not-so-subtly off to the side.

"I'm pretty sure there are plenty 'a people who'd turn the hit squads into mush before they could even blink. Present company included."

Said red-head smirked as she sipped the drink in her hand. Aethyta looked back to her daughter, leveling a saddened gaze at her through dark blue eyes.

"So… how long've you known?"

Liara knew the question, and shared in the sullen look in her parent's eyes.

"Just over six months."

A soft sigh left the Matriarch's mouth as her face turned downward to stare at the countertop before her.

"Goddess… You know, you look just like her."

Sapphire eyes gazed at her parent with moroseness.

"You loved her?"

Aethyta's face shot back up, brows knit.

"Of course I did! Still do… A century of lovin' someone isn't just gonna go away…"

"Then… why did you…?"

The bartender sighed again as she took a cloth out of the pocket of her dress and began cleaning a glass beneath the surface of the counter that didn't need cleaning. It had become something of a habit. Centuries of doing the same thing over and over could do that, apparently.

"It was obvious we were drifting apart. She always wanted to seek a peaceful cooperation with the other races, while I thought we needed to stand on our own. My parents fought in the Krogan rebellions. On _opposite_ sides, even! I've seen what even the smallest difference of opinion can do to a relationship, depending on the subject. If that's what ended it… hell, I don't even know. All I know is…"

The elder Asari took a breath to steady herself, to keep her mind clear of angry blue eyes that looked just _so_ similar to the pair that stared at her right now.

"I just regret… not having the time ta' talk with her… really _talk_ with her one last time before she ran off with that… that _Saren_ son-of-a-bitch."

Liara looked at her parent, placing her hands on the counter to lean against it slightly.

"She originally joined him because she _saw_ what he was becoming. She'd tried to turn him away from the path he was trotting, but… she became indoctrinated alongside him."

A hairless, purple brow rose up in suspicion.

"Indoctrinated? So… it's true? The Reapers can… worm their way into yer mind?"

The Shadow Broker nodded her head grimly.

"Yes. I've seen it happen before my very eyes. They can enslave even the brightest minds. But… She was strong. She fought with _everything_ she was, and was able to break from their hold long enough to help us one last time before… before she died. I was there."

"What…?"

Shock filled Aethyta's face. What should she think? For the longest time, she'd _blamed_ her late lover, condemned her actions. And _Liara_ was there when she…

"The last thing she said… was that she… was _proud_ of me."

The Matriarch had almost dropped the glass she was holding.

"She…"

Setting the glass down, the elder Asari placed her own hands on the counter, on top of Liara's gloved hands. Grief painted her face as clear as the artificial daylight that shined down onto the Presidium commons.

"All this time… All these years I… I thought it was _her_ fault. But it wasn't… Oh… 'Nezzy…"

Liara turned her hands upward to grip her once estranged parent's. Dark blue eyes lifted to lock with bright sapphire, tears brimming along their edges. A smile spread on Aethyta's face as she gazed at her beloved daughter.

"You know… She was right ta' be proud'a you. Our Little Wing…"

The Asari Matriarch brought a hand up to cup Liara's face, rubbing at her cheek as a tear slid down its curve. Beside the duo, emerald green eyes turned upward with a smile as she downed the rest of the drink and turned toward her own company.

"C'mon, Ash. Let's let them have some time to themselves."

Ashley finished her own drink and set it down onto the glowing blue counter before following the Commander as they made their way through the crowds of people populating the commons.

"They'll be alright. I'm sure of it."

Shepard smiled at her former squad-member's optimism as they descended the steps of the commons and entered the market grounds. Dozens of merchants lined the walls with potential buyers observing their wares in front of countertops.

"Yeah."

"Have you heard anything about your own mother?"

Jane sighed and turned away from the armor stand she'd been staring at, continuing to walk along the street with Williams at her side.

"I wish I did… I'm trying ta' keep my chin up… but…"

It truly caused despair to settle in her abdomen at being ignorant to the fate of her mother.

"It's eating me up inside, not knowing where she is… if she's even alive."

A hand laid itself upon Jane's uniformed shoulder, making her smile at the gentle warmth it generated through the fabric on her skin.

"If _you're_ any indication, that woman is probably racking up a _mountain_ of bodies."

The light-hearted reply made a soft chuckle bubble up within her diaphragm. She turned toward the former Gunnery-Chief.

"You're probably right. Thanks."

"You can borrow mine for the time being, if you want. You kinda remind me of dad, so I'm sure she'd just _love_ you."

The light chuckle turned into a brief, hearty laugh as the duo made their way through the market place.

"Hahah, I don't think that'll be necessary, but thanks for the offer, Chief."

* * *

 **Edit: Thank you to the anonymous guest who pointed out that Tennyson's works are public domain. Again, the poem in question is 'Tears, Idle Tears' by Alfred Lord Tennyson, for those who may want to look up the whole thing.**

 **Things are happening in my life that are forcing more of my time away from writing this, but I hope to get back to updating at a quicker pace.**

 **Thank you for reading, and I hope to have you join me again soon.**


	32. Strategy

**Disclaimer: Most of the characters and all of the locations, technologies, concepts, etc that appear in this story are property of Bioware/EA.**

* * *

 **This is War**

"Ugh… Well… I didn't expect to see you first thing when I woke up."

Kasumi groggily tugged at the white medical shirt that adorned her torso, attempting to sit up before a three-fingered hand on her shoulder gently forced her back down onto the pillow.

"Had to make sure you weren't just putting up a front so you can keep messing with my stuff behind my back. Can't be too careful."

Garrus chuckled as he readjusted the white cotton blanket over the thief's slim shoulders. Kasumi grimaced as she tried turn on the bed toward the Turian, head pounding and body aching.

"Agh, how long was I out?"

The former C-sec agent grabbed the glass of water on the bed-side stand and retrieved a small, plastic bendable tube from the drawer beneath it (if he recalled correctly, the curious device was called a "straw" by its Human creators).

"Not too long, about seven or eight hours. I'd say you're getting more sleep than most folks on this ship."

Kasumi giggled lightly before her face twisted into a scowl as a pained whine came from her throat. Garrus brought the straw to the thief's partially tattooed lips, allowing her a few precious sips.

"How're you feeling?"

A partly purple colored lip smacked as she savored the drink.

"Like I got into a fight with the innards of a drive core and lost."

"Ah, you're up. Good."

The accented voice of Doctor Karin Chakwas bounced off of the medbay walls as she walked through the door, a data pad in her hand. The Doctor gave a brief nod and smile to Padok Wiks and Eve as she made her way to Kasumi's bed.

"Hey Doctor. Long time, no see."

Karin smirked as she rounded the bed, pulling the blanket down to Kasumi's midsection.

"Indeed. I'm actually rather disappointed you didn't say hello sooner. I almost missed your constant teasing when I worked on a patient."

The thief gave a wry laugh at the sarcasm in Chakwas' voice, trying to ignore the sudden jolt of pain shoot through her spine.

"Hehe, on this ship I figured you have your hands full already. I didn't want to distract yah."

The Doctor gave a light smile and a shake of her head. She placed the pad on the side of the bed and reached down, slipping a gloved hand down and lifting up the thin medical shirt to reveal a flat, pale abdomen.

"Oh nonsense. I'll take whatever moments of flippancy I can get, at this point. Now, I'll need you to tense all muscles necessary as if you were about to sit up."

Kasumi did so, feeling muted pain dance within her back. Karin took note of the sharp intake of breath and the tightening of the thief's stomach before her.

"Where is the pain most intense, and to what degree? Can you tell?"

"Ugh… would it suffice if I said my everywhere hurts?"

Doctor Chakwas huffed a quiet laugh and began feeling the muscle tissue on Kasumi's abdomen.

"I fear that, medically speaking, that response isn't as accurate as I'd like it to be."

Pulling her hands away, Karin activated her omni-tool to run a medical scan and send a small message before pulling the soft fabric of the shirt back down.

"Now, come, sit up."

Garrus leaned forward to place his own hands on the thief's shoulders as the Doctor supported her back, both gently and carefully lifting her up. A soft whine came from Kasumi's throat as her face twisted into an over exaggerated grimace.

"Nngh! I'm dying…! I can see the light! Bury me with my fortune, please!"

"Oh hush, you big baby. I've treated you for worse."

Karin shot a mock glare at the now sitting thief while Garrus chortled to himself as he began stacking pillows for Kasumi to lean against.

"So… I'm gonna go out on a limb and say that Tuchanka is still in one piece…?"

Her question couldn't be answered due to the door of the medbay sliding open, followed quickly by boots stomping onto the metal flooring.

"Don't you _**EVER**_ do that to me again!"

The silvery-haired woman's outburst caught every occupant of the medbay by complete surprise. Everyone except the thief, who couldn't keep the wide grin off of her face.

"Aw, you _do_ care after all!"

Alexis moved to stand next to the bed, gripping the sidebar tightly while looking at Kasumi with such intensity behind her eyes that the thief almost thought she'd burst into tears right there. After a moment, the Major General sighed as relief took her body siege. She reached over and took the Japanese thief's hand, squeezing softly. The grin on Kasumi's face was replaced by a sweet smile, gripping her former mentor's hand. The smile was matched by Kane's own as a silent and tender moment passed between the two.

Doctor Chakwas looked between them, glad that Alexis seemed in much better spirits now than she did only a few hours ago. Garrus stared contentedly at the scene, his mandibles twitching upward as he stood from his chair.

"Well, to answer your question, yes. Tuchanka _is_ still in one piece. We just dropped off the bomb core at the Citadel. We should be arriving at the Aralahk system again in about an hour."

The former C-sec agent said as he gave a light stretch to his back. The thief tittered and shot an amused grin at Garrus.

"And _you_ didn't know about it? I thought you were some trusted advisor of the Turian Hierarchy?"

"For _Reapers_. Apparently, I'm not high-profile enough for sensitive information outside that jurisdiction… not yet, at least. _If_ we get through this.

Garrus rested a hand on his armored hip as he shot his own smirk at the thief. Kasumi looked around the medbay for a moment, seeing its usual occupants lessened by one. She turned with a curious eye to Padok Wiks at his station next to Eve's medical bed.

"Where's Mordin? I thought he'd be here twenty-four-seven, with this cure business."

Wiks looked up from his panel to briefly regard the thief.

"Oh, the cure is ready and waiting. We simply need to distribute it amongst the Krogan population. He's currently on deck two, sorting out said plan with Urdnot Wrex and the Commander."

Another sly smirk stretched Kasumi's cheeks.

"Oh goodie, I hope the plan involves us killing a lot of-"

"Oh no you don't. If there's any combat going on any time soon, _you_ won't be part of it. I still need to run some tests to see if there's any underlying damage to your spine and nervous system."

The Doctor quickly interjected as she activated her omni-tool. The black-haired thief pouted at Karin.

"Oh, c'mon! I'm fine! I'm in perfect condit- _ow_!"

A sharp pinch on Kasumi's arm silenced her with a pained yelp. Alexis leveled a light frown at her former protégé

"You're going to stay here until the good Doctor says otherwise. Understood?"

Kasumi knew that look. She wouldn't be able to slip out of this easily. She huffed a quiet breath and sat back against the pillows with another pout on a tattooed lip. The Major General puffed out a small giggle at the thief's expression before sitting in the chair Garrus had sat in. She was thankful that her relationship with Kasumi was intact after all these years. She'd lost enough loved ones in this war already. She wouldn't lose another, not while her body still drew breath.

* * *

"The Shroud. Constant global dispersion of air particles."

Mordin Solus said as he hunched himself over the central holographic console at the center of the war room. In a moment, the display brought up a shimmering structure, slender in form and rising high in the simulated Tuchanka atmosphere.

"Built by Salarians to repair atmosphere of Tuchanka from nuclear fallout. Expression of goodwill to gain Krogan support for Rachni wars. Also… used by Turians."

Primarch Adrien Victus stepped forward from across the holo-table. He had already lost something precious for his secrecy. No more.

"It was used to spread the genophage in secret during the rebellions. It ended the conflict without ever being suspected."

Wrex hummed a low growl at the Primarch beside him.

"Hrmph… I'd be careful who you tell that to."

"Another decision that was made over a thousand years ago, when times were… harsh on the galaxy."

"Is this nonsense going anywhere?"

All eyes turned toward Kassaran Ankara, who held a resentful glare at Mordin and Shepard as she stood before the hologram. Jane gave a hard stare in the High-Sergeant's direction before turning back to Mordin.

"You think this'll help?"

The ex-STG operative nodded his thin head, staring at the glowing Shroud before him.

"Yes. Original genophage strain still in storage at facility. Can use it as transmission vector, allow cure strain to expunge and replace genophage strain, then synthesize cure into global atmospheric distribution protocols. Will spread cure to entirety of Tuchanka and affect all Krogan on surface quickly."

Wrex's large form leaned over the rim of the holo-table as he looked at the simulated Shroud dispersing air and wind into the sky of his home planet. This was it. The key to his race's salvation. This wasn't some rouge Salarian scientist running tests on his females, or a morally compromised SPECTRE raising an army of brainwashed Krogan for his own purposes. This was real. It was finally _happening_.

"You clever little pyjack. That's our best shot, _right there_."

"Are you sure about this, Doctor Solus? Is this the only way?"

The four turned toward Ankara again as she held her stare at the holographic Shroud facility. Mordin smiled.

"Always other options. This one most direct and quickest. Situation requires haste; Reapers will not simply wait while devising plans."

"Commander!"

Every head in the room shot up at EDI's voice on the intercom.

"Go ahead."

"Scans of Tuchanka have indicated a Reaper signature on the planet's surface! Coordinates are the same as the facility Doctor Solus mentioned!"

Jane glowered and muttered a curse under her breath before gently pushing Mordin aside to take his place at the center console.

"Damn it, you're definitely right on that, Mordin. Bring it up on the war room table."

"At once."

The Shroud facility shrunk in size, allowing for more of Tuchanka's surface to be seen before another form materialized directly in front of it. The Commander instantly recognized the design of the gigantic machine.

"Well, isn't that just great. Can you tell what it's doing at the Shroud?"

A small moment passed before streams of data began pouring forth beside the displayed Reaper.

"It seems it is interfacing with the Facility's internal systems. For what purpose, I do not know."

Mordin squinted at the presented data before his face twisted into a displeased frown.

"Trying to access global dispersion algorithms and procedures. Could be trying to poison atmosphere."

"Whatever it's doing, I want it _off_ my damn planet!"

Wrex growled loudly as he gripped the side of the holo-table. Jane stared at the red-outlined Reaper on the table before lifting her gaze to the duo across from her.

"Agreed. Primarch Victus, Wrex, we're gonna need a group effort if we're going ta' pull this off."

The Krogan twisted his neck in several directions, a muted _crack_ resounded through the room.

"Rrgh! Whatever it takes, I'm with yah, Shepard."

"Our forces are spread thin on Palaven… but I'll do what I can. What do you have in mind, Commander?"

Jane punched several buttons on the holographic interface. The Reaper was then surrounded by a swarm of Turian-designed fighters attacking it from the air. After a moment, a group of tomkah ground vehicles closed in around the machine.

"A joint attack. Have a Turian fighter squadron engage the Reaper from above while Krogan mortar squads hit it from below. With some luck, they'll be able ta' draw it away from the Shroud."

Mordin lifted his hand to rub at his chin.

"Hm, distraction to allow small team to enter Shroud facility. Finish synthesizing and injecting cure."

"After the cure is good ta' go, we'll figure out a way to bring it down. Finish your preparations. We'll be on Tuchanka in half an hour."

The Salarian nodded his horned head, turning to exit the war room.

"Of course. Will need to bring Eve to keep cure strain intact until injection into atmospheric repair systems of Shroud. _Must_ keep her alive."

"Hmph! Let's get this done!"

Wrex bellowed as he turned to exit the war room. Primarch Victus nodded his spiked head as he returned to his station, hailing any surviving pilots to inform them of their new mission.

'Commander, there's a priority message for you, marked as urgent. I'll route it to the comm-room.'

Shepard lightly sighed as she heard Specialist Traynor announce over the intercom.

"Just one thing after another. Thanks, Traynor."

Jane was about to leave before she felt a hand on her arm. Turning toward whoever had grabbed her, the Commander was surprised at finding a pair of feline-like eyes staring down into her own.

"High-Sergeant?"

"I wish to accompany you on this mission, Commander."

Dark red brows rose at the unexpected request.

"I wouldn't have expected this. Your reason for wanting to come?"

Kassaran released the red-head's arm and looked at her feet for a small moment before bringing her gaze up to face the Human.

"The reports we're receiving from Palaven… aren't good. We're losing ground every passing minute. As much as I dislike the Krogan… my worry over Palaven outweighs my distaste over them. I want to make _sure_ this operation goes off without a hitch, and as quickly as possible. Otherwise… I might not have a world to return to."

Jane recognized the look in the cabal warrior's eyes. It was the same look the Commander herself had allowed onto her face the day Earth was attacked. The day she watched that shuttle's burned and blackened remains plummet into the ocean as the Normandy took off. She gave a solemn nod of her head and placed a hand on Ankara's upper arm, squeezing softly.

"I know… We'll get this done. Then we'll be one more step closer ta' finishing this once and for all. Gather whatever you need and meet us down in the shuttle bay."

Kassaran nodded and watched as Jane turned away to walk up the stairs leading into the quantum entanglement communication room. The desperate and worried look that had taken a great effort to muster up quickly fell into a glare as she looked down at the arm the Commander had touched. She gave the spot a pointed sneer and brushed at the material of her armor, as if some speck of dirt had landed on it before she turned to exit the war room. This _Human_ wouldn't touch her again.

* * *

"… Glyph, say that again…?"

"The entirety of the population of the planet Tyvor has been completely eradicated. Agent Sariatus' cell could not leave the planet in time."

Liara T'soni had to pause in her keystrokes on the computer interface before her. An _entire_ planet?

"The Reapers don't just destroy whole planetary civilizations…"

"It seemed to be self-inflicted, Doctor. The last known transmissions from Agent Sariatus indicated that Tyvor's leaders had agreed to the detonation of hundreds of high-yield nuclear devices across the planet's cities. The detonations corresponded with the arrival of Reaper signatures in the system."

 _That_ had made the Shadow Broker's hands fall from the holographic keyboard altogether.

"Goddess…"

"Their deaths would have been instantaneous, Doctor…"

She brought a gloved hand up to rub at the inner edges of her eyes, squeezing the bridge of her nose. Just the thought of _so many_ lives being snuffed out in a matter of _seconds_ … and to have it be out of _fear_ … it sent a lance of discomfort to pierce the pit of her stomach.

"Thank you, Glyph… That will be all."

She looked back up to the rows of display screens before her, each presenting their own data on individual parts of the Crucible. She silently feared that more worlds would suffer the same fate as Tyvor. It wasn't exactly a secret what the Reapers did to organic beings, and it wasn't a surprise that many people would simply prefer death over… being _harvested_. The amount of souls that were in agony at _this_ very moment…

"Liara."

The Asari's head snapped up at the sound of EDI's voice within her office.

"Yes, EDI?"

"Commander Shepard has requested that you be brought on the priority mission to Tuchanka. If you wish to join the ground party, please proceed to the hangar."

The sound of her lover's name brought an involuntary smile to her face, yet she was slightly disappointed that Jane hadn't come to ask her herself. No matter, she would meet Shepard down on deck four. Liara lifted herself from her chair, grabbing her Predator pistol and its holster from where they sat on the server behind her.

"Glyph, please continue cataloging and organizing the data on the Crucible. I want reports from all teams when I get back.

The small holographic drone bounced in the air as she made her way to the door of her office.

"At once, Doctor T'soni."

Exiting her quarters, Liara strode to the central Normandy elevator after giving a brief nod and smile to the crewmates sitting at the mess hall tables. Turning the corner, the former archaeologist's brow rose at the sight of Eve and Padok Wiks standing in front of the elevator door.

"Captain Wiks, Eve. Are you going to be on the mission as well?"

Padok turned to give a smile to the Shadow Broker.

"Yes, we'll need to bring Eve in order to properly stabilize the cure to make it ready for use in the Shroud facility."

Liara had read about the Shroud, and she knew about its _other_ purpose during the Krogan rebellions. As ruthless a tactic as it was, she couldn't deny it was an effective means to diffusing an uprising.

"Even if I wasn't needed, they wouldn't be able to stop me from going. It's _my_ world's fate that hangs in the balance. And, in due course, the fate all our worlds. We _can't_ fail."

The Asari grinned at the shaman's response as they waited for the elevator. Whatever outcome awaited them on the surface of the Krogan homeworld, they would face it together.


	33. Queen

**Disclaimer: Most of the characters and all of the locations, technologies, concepts, etc that appear in this story are property of Bioware/EA.**

* * *

 **This is War**

"The clans are assembling at the Hollows. It's one of the oldest places on Tuchanka, first populated by our ancestors. The mortar squads will meet us there; they'll have the Tomkahs ready when we arrive."

Urdnot Wrex said as the shuttle rocked itself to and fro. Around him, the ground squad of the SSV Normandy SR2 readied themselves. Jane looked at the newly purchased M-11 Wraith in her hands, turning the gun over and inspecting it. Its design mirrored that of the Eviscerator, but with a heavier weight despite its lesser clip capacity. Liara stood beside her, adjusting the white armor plates on her chest and shoulders. She had elected to dress properly for combat, and found her usual reinforced lab coat woefully lacking in defensive capabilities. She hadn't been in actual battle armor since her voyage with the original Normandy more than two years ago.

High-Sergeant Ankara deployed and retracted her venom-tipped claws, twisting the tubes at the base of her gauntlets to allow for maximum delivery of their payload on contact. To the side, Padok Wiks stood over the sitting forms of Mordin and Eve on the seats of the shuttle. The Salarian captain activated his omni-tool to run another scan of Eve's biological stability.

"Hrrm… _This_ will be the defining moment in Krogan history."

"Krogan history full of defining moments. Most bloody and violent. Hope this turns out better."

Wrex barked out a laugh at Mordin's response, turning to the ex-STG operative.

"Hah! You haven't been on Tuchanka long, so I'll forgive yah for a bit of ignorance with how we operate when it comes ta' world threatening situations."

"Am aware of normal state of Krogan populace. Simply hope for least amount of casualties possible."

"Any Krogan worth their quad would step up ta' the plate and give themselves for the cause."

Jane simply couldn't focus on the conversation anymore. She thought back to the message she'd received. Even if they hadn't been desperate in seeking aid for the ongoing battles with the Reapers, the Krogan _deserve_ a chance against extinction. She'd seen Wrex's efforts first hand. The idea of taking all of that work and burying without anyone even _knowing_ … It was absurd.

"Commander, is there something troubling you?"

Eve's voice floated across the shuttle and into Jane's ears. She looked up from her new shotgun to glance at the Krogan Shaman. She wouldn't condemn the Krogan over the worries of a frightened Dalatrass.

"I received a message from-"

The shuttle jerked sharply back and forth before she could finish her sentence. Wrex braced himself on the shuttle wall as he activated his omni-tool, opening the incoming call he had received.

"Yeah? What is it? … Well, isn't that just the sweetest?"

Wrex gave a wry grin and closed the holographic interface, looking up to face his former Commander.

"Looks like the Reapers've set up a welcoming party for us. Ready weapons!"

Jane turned to the open cockpit of the shuttle.

"Cortez, I want you to bug out when we get off. Get back to the Normandy, understood?"

Lieutenant Cortez nodded his head and maneuvered the shuttle into the metal and stone ruins of Tuchanka's surface.

"Aye aye, ma'am. We're here, good luck!"

The group stood and faced the shuttle door as it unlatched itself and began opening. Without a moment to spare, a husk jumped out with the intent to latch onto the Krogan clan leader. It would see its goal unfulfilled as a large hand grasped its neck. Wrex growled angrily at the would-be attacker and squeezed his hand into a fist, crushing the thing's neck with minimal effort before tossing it down onto the Tuchanka dirt. The husk attempted to get back up before Krogan boots slammed into its back, crushing the cybernetic creature further into the dirt as pound upon immense pound of Krogan bear down onto its form.

Wrex turned to the shuttle, a hard stare on his large face.

"Keep these damn things _away_ from the female! I'm gonna go sort out everything with the other clans!"

Jane nodded as she watched him run off before she and her squad hopped off of the shuttle and onto the stained dirt.

"Okay! Double-time, people!"

Wiks and Mordin ushered Eve off of the shuttle, allowing her larger form to lean on them for support. Jane, Liara and Kassaran moved forward, looking for any more threats as they made their way to the large door ahead. The door of the UT-47 closed before ascending into the sky of Tuchanka.

Jane turned to her squad, gripping her Wraith as she approached the large metal door.

"We don't know their numbers or the units they brought, so stick _together_ and watch each other's backs. Clear?"

"Affirmative!"

"Let's do this, already."

Touching her hand to the door, Jane moved backward to allow the brown steel to shift and groan. The door slid open to reveal another screaming husk rushing at the group. Jane immediately took aim and blew the creature's head clean off with one loud _blast_ of her new weapon. The Commander looked down at the Wraith in surprise. The thing kicked like a damn mule, but its power _couldn't_ be denied.

Shepard looked out to the large chamber of the Hollows. Light stone walls rose high into the sky, topped with a broken ceiling exposing rebar and metal structuring. Alcoves on the walls revealed balconies while the stone floor down the flight of stairs below them was itself a raised platform, almost as if it were built as an arena.

"Shepard!"

Liara shouted as she threw a powerful biotic blast down the stairs, narrowly missing Jane and hitting the quickly closing husks to knock them clear across the room. Shepard gave a grin and nodded to her lover.

"Alright! Liara, Kassaran, with me! I want a wide formation around this staircase! Mordin, Wiks, I want you watching our backs! Pick your targets! _Nothing_ gets past us! Clear!?"

" **Roger**!"

Her squad replied. Jane's team moved down the stone stairs while Padok readied his Raptor sniper rifle as Mordin retrieved the M-9 Tempest from his coat. As if on cue, hordes of husks began climbing up the edges of the floor. Ahead of the ground squad, Krogan warriors could be seen fighting against the growing throng of once-Human creatures. Their efforts were in vain as the veritable _sea_ of Reaper thralls crashed over them, washing them away as if they were shells on a beach that were swept up in a tide. In but a moment, countless glowing eyes turned toward the Normandy ground squad.

"Here they come! Wait for my go!"

Without hesitation, the husks rushed forward to the group at a frighteningly swift pace. Metallic screams and roars filled the air. The terrible cybernetic creatures closed in. Emerald green looked out at the horde before turning toward the white-clad Asari.

"Liara, _now_!"

The Shadow Broker's hand came up as her biotics flared outward. A singularity of dark energy formed at the center of the enemy monsters, visibly widening as Liara focused herself on expanding the field's pull range. More and more husks were ensnared within the singularity's grasp before a reave field latched onto one, causing an unstable biotic detonation to resound throughout the space with a loud _boom_. The powerful explosion flung grey bodies about and outright disintegrated the ones within its radius, but the horde would not be pacified with just one. Liara drew her pistol as Ankara's blades unsheathed from her gauntlets.

" **C'mon**!"

Jane shouted as she placed another round into an incoming husk, sending it back onto the stone floor. Liara fired her predator into the group before launching a widely arcing throw into them. A reave field landed onto the targeted recipients of the blast, forcing multiple explosions of dark energy across the battlefield. The High-Sergeant wasted no time in rushing forward, slicing wildly at any husk in her path. Straying from the group, Kassaran grabbed a nearby creature, lifting its minuscule weight up with ease and tossing it into the throng. Ankara stepped forward again, stabbing her blades into the chest of another husk and ripping its body open, spraying grey blood onto the ground.

Before she could advance further, the shimmering form of Captain Wiks appeared before her, halting her and gaining the attention of the husks ahead. The distracted creatures promptly had their heads explode from Raptor fire from above.

"Ankara! _Stay in formation_!"

Jane bellowed as she purged her barrier and tossed the nova blast into a group of three husks who had gotten past the High-Sergeant. Kassaran grunted and returned to her position, taking with her the heads of two more husks in a blur of green and blue before pivoting on her heel and striking into the chest of another that had found itself close to the cabal warrior before ripping the venom-tipped claw downward. Blackened entrails and glowing cybernetics fell to the ground below.

Liara thrust out a hand once more as her biotics flared again. A stasis field erected before her in the shape of a sphere, capturing several thralls and rendering them motionless and helpless as Jane charged into them. More explosions immediately followed, almost shaking the floor on which they stood and obliterating the husks. Jane readjusted her position and planted one powerful Wraith round into a leaping husk before sending a pull field out into another. The Commander purged her barrier in a wide radius, killing the hovering husk in an instant and sending the others back from the blast. Yet, after several moments, it was evident that it wouldn't be enough.

"More coming over the sides!"

Kassaran screeched, launching a volley of green blades from her gauntlets. The targets of the attack were paralyzed in an instant, falling to the ground as an incineration blast lit up their bodies into smoking ashes. Jane grunted and turned to view the husks attempting to flank them by climbing up the sides of the staircase.

"Liara!"

"On it!"

The former archaeologist turned toward the inside of the formation, facing Mordin, Wiks and Eve before raising both her arms as dark energy swirled around her form. Channeling her power, Liara unleashed her biotics in a vicious display of blue wisps. The creatures at the edges of the stairs soon found their heads severed from their bodies as they now tumbled down into the darkness below.

"The Reaper brought this many troops with it!?"

The High-Sergeant said as she stabbed a blade into the skull of the husk before her, tearing its head off with relative ease. Liara grunted and swiped a hand into the air, biotically flinging two charging thralls off of the side of the large stone floor.

"From the structural scans we've received from the Alliance, all types of Reaper ships can- rgh!"

The Asari cut off her own sentence to land a warp blast into the center of a group of rushing husks and allowing Shepard to charge into them, wiping them off of the battlefield with a loud burst of dark energy.

"-They're able to store materials within the undersides of their chassis! I would imagine it would make for ideal infantry deployment!"

"I don't think this is the time for a debriefing! Focus, please!?"

Jane irritably shouted as she charged into another husk, sending it across the room before turning to bludgeon the butt of her shotgun into the face of one beside her, its brittle face cracking and splintering from the force of her blow. The creatures seemed to be thinning after several more minutes of the arduous assault. Shepard looked up to the balconies above and saw groups of Krogan fighting their own battles around them.

Without warning, the corpse of a Reaper thrall shot forward from behind the group, slamming into the now steadily dwindling horde of husks. Jane looked back to see the familiar maroon armor of Urdnot Wrex charging past Wiks, Mordin and Eve on the staircase, flanked on both sides by his own crowd of yelling Krogan soldiers.

" **Ragh**! Push 'em back! Make 'em regret setting foot on _our_ planet!"

Wrex gave a bestial roar as he led the charge. Jane watched as he fired a flaming carnage round into the horde of husks before grinning and readying her biotics. She charged forward into the throng of ignited husks, catching sight of a warp field latching itself onto one and causing large fiery explosion before she barreled into the group and detonated the warp field's biotic effect into a deadly blast of blue, red and black. Around her, Krogan warriors began rushing into the fray, firing their own weapons and physically engaging the husks with more than a few tackles and head-butts.

Within just a few seconds, the horde of Reaper thralls thinned into nothing. The Krogan loudly rejoiced in the small victory, toting their guns and fists into the air and shouting battle-cries as the last husk came to be crushed under a heavy Krogan boot.

"Haha! They'll sing battle-songs about this, someday!"

Wrex boomed over the chorus of shouts around them, his armor scuffed and bloodied.

"Reaper blood has finally soaked our soil!"

More harsh grunts and roars resounded from the balconies above. Jane smirked at the scene before bringing a finger to her ear.

"Primarch, is the strike team ready?"

'Yes, they're en-route as we speak, Commander. ETA, thirty minutes.'

Shepard turned toward the Krogan clan leader.

"Wrex, the airstrike is on its way. Are the vehicles ready?"

Wrex exhaled loudly and looked at his former Commander, nodding his large head.

"Hmmph! Yeah, they're good ta' go."

"Eve safe as well, vitals holding steady."

Mordin said as he came down the stairs beside the Krogan group. Jane couldn't reply before a lurid voice rumbled in the air.

"What the _hell_ is a Salarian doing here!? Flay 'im alive!"

They turned to see another Krogan approach with his own cavalcade. He was clad in dark grey armor with a tanned complexion on his exposed, scaly skin while the natural plate armor on his forehead was a darker brown and shaped in a similar style as Wrex's. The Krogan clan leader uttered a low growl and approached the newcomer with a glare.

"Over my dead body!"

"Maybe we can have that arra- Urgh!"

The other Krogan couldn't finish his sentence before a loud _crack_ filled the air. He found himself leaning back and holding his aching forehead plate from the powerful head-butt Wrex had given him. The large warriors around him snarled at the action. Jane immediately stepped in with her own distasteful glare.

" **Hey**! We're here ta' help with the genophage and the giant _death machine_ trying to kill you!"

"Hrmph! We didn't _ask_ for yer help, Human mutt! We've had enough 'help' from the other races already. Get these damn aliens off our planet Wrex, before we show 'em some good ol' Krogan hospitality!"

The Commander glowered at the aggressive Krogan before turning to Wrex.

"I'll assume this is a friend of yours?"

Wrex laughed boisterously before leveling his eyes with Jane's

"Hah! 'Friend' is a bit of a stretch."

"Hmph! Urdnot Wreav. Brood brother to our… _illustrious_ leader."

"Rrgh! Wreav and I share the blood of the same mother… and _nothing_ else."

Wreav gave a raucous chuckle before turning toward the Krogan behind him.

"I'm _glad_ that's all we have in common! If we _all_ shared your beliefs, the Krogan would be _shadows_ of what we once were! In fact, you've already proven your weakness by inviting our sworn _enemy_ onto our _home_!"

He shouted as he pointed a stubby finger to Mordin. The ex-STG operative's brow knit together as he stared at Wreav.

"Not here as enemy, here to cure genophage. Can understand distrust but-"

"Distrust doesn't even _begin_ to explain why I should go over there right now and rip yer spine out through yer ass and beat you with it, you damn pyja- Oof!"

Another loud _bash_ of scale plate on plate silenced the Krogan's threat.

"It doesn't matter what _you_ think, Wreav. _I_ trust him. If you have a problem with that…"

More growls and snarls made themselves apparent in the air as Wreav glared daggers at his brother.

"… Then you can crawl back under the rock you came out of. No bullet is worth wasting on _you_."

Wreav's head reared back at the insult before he bared his teeth and unlatched the heavily worn M-22 Eviscerator shotgun from his back, pointing it at Wrex.

"Say that again, you pile of varren _shit_!"

Ankara stood off to the side, silently unsheathing the venom-tipped blades from their places in her gauntlets, waiting for the combat that would inevitably come. She then felt a hand on her arm and looked down to see sapphire eyes looking back up into hers. Liara gave a serious shake of her head. The High-Sergeant's brow plates furrowed before she looked back to the throng of Krogan.

"What, you _deaf_ too? I _said_ that you _aren't_ worth-"

" _ **ENOUGH!**_ "

Another voice boomed over the growing opus of roars and rumbles and completely silenced them. Each pair of eyes looked up the stairs to see the robed Shaman's form, slightly leaning on Captain Wiks for support.

"Please, don't overdo it."

Padok whispered before Eve tore herself away from the Salarian and moving down the stairs on her own.

"You intend to allow the _real_ enemy to infest our world while you _squabble_ amongst yourselves? You intend to allow the genophage to reduce us to _barbarians_ while you stay here and let your hatred for yourselves and others consume you!?"

Eve pushed her way past the Krogan horde, cutting a line between Wrex and Wreav as she stood before her people. Each and every Krogan stood in silence and awe of the Shaman. Being female, Eve already had the respect of her male counterparts, but being a _Shaman_ allowed her to command undivided attention. Each listened intently to her, hanging on every word.

"For _too long_ we've stood apart from one another! For _too long_ , our clans have warred with each other for a hollow dominance that would only end with more bloodshed!"

She turned toward the throng of Krogan warriors, a hard stare in her sandy-red eyes.

" _Today_ we have the chance to make a difference. To _break_ from the path we've been treading for _far too long_! Today we can _prove_ to the galaxy that the Krogan are worth _more_ than stone and sand and dirt! _**Today**_! We have the chance to give a future to our children that might be worthy of _remembrance_! A future _filled_ with glory and _true_ honor! _Filled_ with joy and song!"

Eve looked between Wrex and Wreav, giving each of them a long look.

"I will struggle until my dying breath to protect that future…"

She gave one more glance at the Commander, smiling behind her mask.

"Today, I will _fight_ for that future…"

The Shaman turned around and raised her arms as she looked at the gathered Krogan above and below.

"… _**AND WHO WILL FIGHT**_ **WITH** _ **ME!?**_ "

A tremendously loud orchestra of roars and yells filled the Hollows as the Krogan raised their weapons in an exultant war-cry of determined and absolutely _unyielding_ conviction. Kassaran retracted her claws as she stood in astonishment of the scene. Liara gave her a quick smile before she moved to join Shepard where she stood, next to Wrex's shouting form.

Across from him, Wreav silently glared at his brother before turning towards Eve, eyes boiling with a resolute will that burned itself into the patterns of Eve's robes.


	34. Ruin

**Disclaimer: Most of the characters and all of the locations , technologies, concepts, etc that appear in this story are property of Bioware/EA.**

* * *

 **This is War**

'This is Turian Wing Artimec. Approach vector to the Shroud is locked. Contact in ten minutes, over.'

"Confirmed. We're en-route now. Be ready to engage, out."

Commander Shepard replied over the receiver in her ear. The interior of the Krogan tomkah bounced and jostled with every bump in the road. The ground squadron closed in on the Shroud facility as the sun rose high into the sky. Liara almost had to bring a hand up to her mouth as she felt a wave of nausea wash over her. The swaying and springing of the vehicle had forced memories of the M-35 Mako to bubble up to her consciousness. _By the Goddess_ , she never wanted to remember the ridiculous escapades they had gotten up to in that damned tank.

Jane felt the uneasiness in her lover's mind and turned to rest a hand on Liara's back. She felt a warm mind brush itself across her own in a tender touch of thoughts as the Shadow Broker smiled at the gentle reassurance (before bringing a hand up to cover her mouth after a particularly rough bump).

Across from the Asari, Eve looked to the Commander from her seat on the brown leather before turning to Wrex.

"We will need to be cautious of Wreav. He isn't the only one who still clings to the hatred of the past."

Wrex grunted and shifted in his seat.

"I'll ask the Council for some of our old territory back. That should stop his whining for a little while, at least. Winning _two_ wars against extinction has ta' count for something, right? Hehe."

High-Sergeant Ankara looked at the large Krogan for a moment, mouth in a firm line and mandibles shaking slightly.

" _If_ we win this, you'd best present your case in a way that won't make it seem like you're brewing up another rebellion."

"Hrmph! How many times have I gotta tell you, buttercup? I'd rather _die_ than see my race experience that again."

Kassaran sneered at the nickname that the Krogan had apparently dubbed her with. Mordin looked up from his omni-tool, putting a brief pause the genophage cure scan to glance at Wrex.

"Again, hope for least amount of casualties possible. _Including_ you. Can only see dim future for Krogan without proper leadership."

Wrex bellowed a hearty laugh.

"Hahah! I guess yer right about that, Doc. Gotta be careful if I wanna drag our people back into the light of glory, just like how we used ta' be."

Jane's ear perked up at her former squadmate's statement and turned from Liara to look at Wrex.

"What were the ancient Krogan like?"

"Tuchanka was not always the wasteland it is now."

All eyes turned to Eve again.

" _Many_ years ago, this was a place of grand cities, lush forests and _proud_ citizens. We welcomed challenges eagerly, always looking to test the limits of our strengths: both physical strength and the strength of our bonds."

Captain Wiks lowered his head as he sat beside the robed Shaman while the tomkah rocked back and forth, a solemn expression on his face.

"At least until we began the uplift process…"

"No."

Eve countered, looking at Wiks with a side glance.

"The Salarians are not at fault for the destruction of Tuchanka. It was our own doing. Our very nature compelled us to put your technological gifts to use against rival clans. Nuclear war was simply inevitable."

Wrex leaned forward, placing a hand on his knee as he wiped a smudge of blood from his scarred cheek.

" _We_ ruined Tuchanka, so we'll need a new place ta' live. Another reason ta' ask for our worlds back."

Jane smiled at her large friend.

"We defeat the Reapers, and you'll probably get more than just a statue on the Presidium."

A rumbling laugh almost seemed to shake the interior of the vehicle.

"Haha, let's hope we get enough planets to hold all the newborns."

"Wrex…"

"What? It's been more than a thousand years; I'd say there's just a little bit o' catching up to do after we cure the genophage! Hehe"

Jane's smile fell as she looked down to the floor of the tomkah. The genophage cure…

Easily seeing the look the Commander gave, Eve brought her head up to stare at Jane grasping the overhead handle to steady herself.

"Commander, you were about to say something on the shuttle."

Jane stood by her convictions. She never allowed the opinions of others to ultimately decide what she would do. She'd befriended Wrex and saw the depth of his drive to elevate the Krogan to a higher standard.

"I'd receive a message from Dalatrass Linron. She said that the STG modified the Shroud, made it so that if a cure was ever developed and entered into the system, it would be altered in a way that would make sure its potency would be diminished. To the point that it would… fail."

The freckled Commander brought a hand up to activate her omni-tool. After several inputs on the device, a voice began playing from it.

'Years ago, our operatives sabotaged the Shroud to ensure what you're planning _couldn't_ be done.'

The playback of Linron's voice ended, Wrex sat up with a disgruntled frown on his wide, reptilian face.

"… She thought we wouldn't know better…? That scheming _bitch_ …"

"We're familiar with STG protocols. Mordin and I can easily counteract the modifications."

Wiks stated as Mordin nodded in agreement.

"Would have deceived tests if left unnoticed. Clever. Despicable, but clever."

Eve looked to Shepard, a glint of emotion in her eyes.

"Commander, I hope you realize that you've just spared us _another_ genocide… Thank you."

Jane smiled and simply nodded at the Shaman while Wrex grinned toothily.

"See? I told yah we could trust her. She-"

Another bump on the road caused the tomkah to jump and then lose momentum, slowing to a halt. Wrex's grin fell into a displeased glower.

"We've stopped, there's no way we're there yet."

Jane stepped forward and reached for the handle of the hatch to the outside.

"I'll go check it out, all of you stay here."

The door of the tomkah opened with a twist and pull, allowing the dry, warm air of the Krogan homeworld to hit her face as Jane landed onto the sturdy stone of the highway they had been using. The desolation of Tuchanka was all around her in the forms of ruined buildings and arid desert (was that a _Ferris wheel_ ahead?). The Shroud was in the distance of the landscape, rising high into the sky with a pointed tip and giving off an ominous aura. It could be seen sending green wisps of air into the atmosphere of the planet. Directly next to it was the Reaper destroyer itself. The terrible machine that they would soon face, up close and personally.

Jane glared at the Reaper before making her way to the front of the group of tomkahs that had been stopped. Several Krogan milled about on the road, taking stock of their vehicles to make sure they were working properly. The highway they had been traversing suddenly ended with rubble, a large gap between the section they were on and the next that they would have to get to. Jane scowled and approached the nearby Krogan scout inspecting the stone debris.

"What's the holdup here?"

The Krogan sneered and turned toward the Commander.

"You have eyes, right? The road's out, we ain't makin' it across unless yah wanna go down onto the sand. And trust me, you _don't_ wanna do that."

Shepard gave a dissatisfied sigh and brought a finger up to her earpiece.

"Damn it. Turian Wing Artimec! This is Commander Shepard; the ground team has been delayed. Do not engage. Repeat: _do not_ engage, over."

'It's too late for that, Commander. The Reaper already knows we're here. Our flight path is locked, out!'

Jane clenched her teeth as she looked up to see the Turian fighter squadron shoot past the high wall of stone beside the highway and fly toward the Reaper in the distance.

"Fuck…"

She turned to stomp over to the Krogan scout. If they couldn't get into that fight, their efforts would be for _nothing_.

"We _need_ to get to the Shroud! If we have to go down onto the ground, then so be it!"

"What in the Spirits is going on out here?"

Jane whirled around again to see the slim form of Kassaran exit the tomkah, a muddled look on her face as she stared at the Commander.

"Goddamn it, Ankara I told you to _stay_ in the-"

The sharp sound of a Reaper beam sounded off, forcing Jane's attention away from the High-Sergeant and toward the unfolding battle between the gigantic machine and the Turian fighters. The ship that had been caught in the attack veered away from the fight, spinning wildly and spouting smoke and flames. Shepard's eyes widened as the ship began careening toward her convoy.

" _Shit_! **Get down**!"

She tackled the female Turian to the ground and covered her head as the fighter ship sailed overhead and smashed into a Krogan tomkah with a loud and violent _crash!_ The fighter exploded on contact and sent the large vehicle into the air, spinning and displacing its wheels as gravity took hold and sent it slamming down onto another.

'Shepard!? What was that, are you alright!?'

Liara's panicked voice came through her radio as Jane lifted herself off of Kasasaran.

"I'm fine! Get Eve out of here, now! _**Go**_!"

The convoy revved up their engines again and began moving forward, zooming past Shepard and Ankara before descending down the gap in the highway and onto the sandy desert ground below. The armored Commander stood from the stone road and looked to see the destruction around her. Two tomkah's had been flipped over, their crews hanging out of the hatches and on the ground, dead. Fires were spreading across the metal debris of the Turian fighter.

Shepard allowed another grim frown onto her face before bringing a hand up to her ear again.

"Turian Wing Artimec, do you copy?"

'We're here, Commander, over!'

"I need you to _disengage right now_! We need to come up with another plan of attack, over!"

'We read you, Commander! We're not gonna be getting anywhere as we are now, but the Reaper's onto us! Pulling back and awaiting orders, out!'

Jane huffed and looked out to see the Turian squadron fly away from the Reaper destroyer. Right now, all they had to focus on was getting back to the convoy.

"Commander! There's some kind of tunnel here!"

She looked behind to see Ankara staring at a large crack in the wall of the highway.

"It could be a way down, better than just falling to our deaths over the side of the highway."

"Yes, _walking_ to our deaths seems much better than falling."

Kassaran replied with a snicker as she jumped the gap before her and grasped the edge of the hole. Looking inside, the only thing that was visible was the stone flooring below that was illuminated by the light of the sun through the crack.

"Looks like a six foot drop, after you, Commander."

Ankara drew her pistol and moved aside to allow Jane through the passage. Shepard dropped down onto the floor, her boots making a sharp _clap_ on the stone. She looked forward to see nothing but darkness.

"Damn… its pitch black down there."

Kassaran landed beside her, looking in the same direction as the Commander. There was a flight of stone stairs leading down into the veritable _wall_ of darkness ahead.

"Let's hope it leads out somewhere near the Shroud."

Jane reached up to the receiver in her ear.

"Wrex, you there?"

A few moments of silence was broken by a loud and gruff voice.

'We read yah, Shepard!'

"Is everyone alright?"

'Yeah, yeah, a few scrapes, nothin' the Salarians can't patch up. We heard about the airstrike, looks like we'll have to come up with something else ta' deal with that _thing_.'

The cabal warrior looked at the walls of the stone passageway. They seemed to have symbols on them, carved deep into the tan stone bricks.

"Agreed. We'll need to find a way back to you. We seem to be at the entrance of some kind of underground ruin connected to the highway."

'That's the City of the Ancients, Commander. Most entrances were blocked off but a few remain traversable.'

Eve's voice rung out over the radio.

"How do we get out?"

'There are no maps that exist. It's a labyrinth. Vast tunnels stretch beneath Tuchanka's surface and into its crust. You stand at the entrance of what is considered the _oldest_ place on Tuchanka. Many teams have ventured into the City… very few have returned the same as they were before entering.'

The red-head's brow furrowed as she stared down the stone steps.

"Any particular _reason_ for that?"

'I would advise caution, Commander. Those that have survived the labyrinth have spoken of… _apparitions_ wandering its halls. Visions of Krogan that should have long since faded from this world.'

Ankara sighed in resignation as she looked down into the opposing blackness, activating the mounted flashlight of her pistol to stare down into the hallway. Even with the light, the darkness was still as thick as a heavy raincloud.

"Oh that's just wonderful. Not only are we dealing with Reapers, but _ghosts_ as well?"

'Ahh don't believe in that superstitious crap. Just get outta there as fast as you can, Shepard!'

Jane removed the M-11 Wraith from her back, the shining metal making a quiet _shing_ as it extended to its full length for proper usage.

"Alright, just you and me, Ankara. Ready?"

The High-Sergeant snorted as she readied her Predator pistol.

"Lead the way."

Jane began pressing forward, activating the light on her weapon to see down the stone staircase. After several moments of walking, the duo came to an evenly leveled floor and a doorway leading into a larger room. Shining their flashlights around the space, Shepard and Kassaran saw surprisingly articulate stone craftsmanship around them. However, rubble and ruin dominated the room with dust and cobwebs lining the walls. As they had predicted, the only light source came from the streaming torches on the duo's weapons.

Further exploration of the aesthetic around them was interrupted by a loud quake. The ground beneath their feet shook and forced dust and rock to crumble down around them in thin streams. The tremble in the ground shook Jane's feet from under her, making her brace herself on the nearby fallen slab of broken stone.

"Rgh, what the hell was that?"

Jane said as the shaking abated. The duo righted themselves again, looking about the pitch black room with uncertainty.

"Tectonic movement? Could this place have been built along a fault line?"

"We'll remember ta' ask, let's just get outta here first."

Moving further into the room, Ankara raised her pistol to look at a large hole in the nearby wall before turning to the hallway that led out.

"Looks like we have a choice to make."

Jane took a glance at both paths before turning to her right, hefting her shotgun to see down the hall.

"Let's stick to the rooms that are still in-tact. Going into a broken down wall could lead us further down than we want to go."

"Fair point. Lead on."

Jane stepped into the hallway, peering closely into the darkness and hugging the wall with Ankara close behind. Small sounds of shifting dust echoed throughout the space alongside their footfalls. The Commander came out to what looked like a wide room. Her eyes had adjusted enough to the black surrounding them to make out the barest of shapes in the dark. The room was of the same style as the last one they were in, intricate patterns and eloquent craftsmanship lined the walls. Even in the state it was in now, Jane could tell this place was once a beautiful temple. Her observations were cut short, however, by a slight movement in her peripheral vision to her right.

Jane quickly raised her Wraith to aim at where she had seen the motion, only to let loose a breath of relief at the Krogan statue standing proudly in the corner. Years of erosion had rid the statue of its finer details, but it still had a curious sheen to it, as if it had been recently cleaned.

Another strong tremor shook the chamber in which they stood, almost forcing Jane's feet from beneath her. After a moment, the shaking stopped, following more sand and dust to rustle and fall from the walls. Shepard took a hand off of her weapon to raise it to her ear.

"Wrex, you guys feeling these tremors?"

All she got in reply was silence. Not even the garbled static she was used to at this point. A frown painted the red-head's face as she pressed harder on her receiver.

"Wrex, Liara! Anyone there?"

More silence. Her brow furrowed even further.

"EDI, something's wrong with comms. Anything you can do?"

Just as before, nothing met her ear in return. The radio was simply… dead.

"What the hell…"

"Spirits…"

She turned back to view Kassaran training her pistol-mounted flashlight at the wall. The large stone face before her depicted some kind of drawing. A black-inked form, snaking around the bottom and rising up high on the wall.

"Is that a… thresher maw?"

Jane said as she came to view the mural herself, stepping over to stand beside Ankara.

"I wouldn't be surprised if _that's_ what we've been hearing down here… we should hurry-"

The sound of a heavy object making contact with the stone floor resounded around them. The duo whirled around to aim at the source of the noise. What they saw was not something either of them expected.

"… **Who... are you?** "

The statue that had been on its pedestal in the corner of the room was now broken beyond repair, pieces now littering the floor. Before it was an immense form of a Krogan, even larger than Wrex. His voice sounded as if it came from the room itself, low and gruff. Not a single piece of armor adorned his body, allowing his brown biological plating to almost shine from the lights of Jane's and Ankara's weapons. The Krogan looked at the duo through eyes that were gray and glassy. His face was heavily scarred, to the point where it was almost difficult to discern where his forehead plate ended and his face began. It didn't even appear that he was breathing. He simply stood motionless, staring at them with an almost unnerving gaze.

Jane stepped forward, still pointing her shotgun at the Krogan.

"I'm Commander Shepard, Alliance Navy. Are… you in need of assis-"

" **Who… are you?** "

The Krogan directed his chilling gaze to Kassaran, and the Turian had to suppress a shudder running up her spine at the sound of his ominous voice resounding all around her.

"I've nothing to say to you. We're not here-"

" **A name… is demanded. A name…** _ **must**_ **be given.** "

"This is High-Sergeant Ankara, Turian Hierarchy."

Jane decided to diffuse any tension Kassaran would inevitably make. They didn't have the time to arouse annoyance from a Krogan in a place like this. The cabal warrior glared at the Commander, but said nothing as she returned her eyes to the Krogan's large frame. He turned back to look at Shepard again, a blank stare on his face that managed to hide _something_ behind his mien. It was as if he were… _studying_ them simply by looking at them.

" **You… tread a place you should not… why?** "

Shepard had to admit, the acoustics for this chamber were _damn_ good for a stone room. She couldn't even pinpoint where his voice was coming from. She lowered her weapon slightly.

"We became separated from our group. We're trying ta' find a way out. Do you know how to get to the-"

" **Shroud… the great** _ **deception**_ **.** "

A look of distaste colored the Krogan's face for a brief moment before the stoic expression overcame him again. Jane took a single step forward.

"Yes… We _need_ to get there; the future of _your_ race depends on it."

This time, the only thing on the Krogan's face seemed to be… melancholy.

" **The future… is wreathed… in** _ **fire**_ **…** "

Jane stared at the Krogan, confused.

"What do you mean…?"

The Krogan simply stared back, his face now void of expression.

" **You… know not… what awaits you.** "

"This isn't getting us anywhere."

Ankara said as she closed in on the Krogan, keeping her pistol raised at his face as she glared at him.

"Show us the way out, _now_!"

"... **Out…** "

The Krogan turned away from the duo to look at the center of the room. For several moments, an expression of pain and longing rested on his face before it melted away into nothing, leaving his wide mouth in a firm line.

"… **Out… The only way out… is forward.** "

"I said _show_ us. Not _tell_ us."

"Ankara, stand down."

The Krogan turned his large head toward the High-Sergeant again.

" **That… is the path… you've chosen for yourself…?** "

Kassaran glowered at the strange Krogan before raising her pistol in a threatening manner.

"Enough! I won't tell you again!"

"I said stand down!"

Jane said in a harsh voice before another powerful quake shook the floor. While Jane and Kassaran struggled to keep their footing, the Krogan stood tall and firm, completely unaffected by the strong shaking around them. He looked up to the cracked ceiling slowly depositing sand and dirt from the desert above. His large form turned to the side and began stepping over to the large hallway leading out of the room. The cabal warrior managed to look up long enough to see his retreating form leave the stone chamber in complete darkness.

" _Hey_! Who said you could leave!?"

Ankara gave chase after him, only to find her feet stolen from underneath her as she tumbled to the ground with a metallic _thud_ of armor on stone. The mysterious Krogan took one more glance to the High-Sergeant as the severe shaking abated.

" **Another… beckons…** **Exit… is not mine to give. It is yours… to take.** "

Without another word, the Krogan turned and disappeared behind the corner.

"Wait!"

Kassasran quickly scrambled to her feet and ran into the hall. Turning the corner, the Turian leveled her pistol down where she'd seen the Krogan only to find… nothing. Only thick darkness met her eyes with no trace of the strange Krogan.

"Rgh… Damn it."

"Ankara!"

She turned to see Shepard stomp over, a cold glare in her eyes as they shone in the dark. Jane brought a hand up to pull Kassaran down by her armor's collar.

"When I say stand down, you _stand down_! You _asked_ to be part of this mission, which means you follow my orders. You said you wanted to make sure this went off without a hitch. Either you start holding true to that or I will throw you off of my ship _myself_. Understood?"

"I tried-"

Another hard tug on her armor silenced her.

" _ **Understood?**_ "

The harsh tone the Commander took was almost enough to put a shiver to Ankara's spine. This _Human_ … dared to speak to her like this? The cabal warrior glared down into emerald green, her own eyes almost glowing.

"Yes, Commander."

The armored hand released her armor and shoved her aside. Jane walked down the dark hallway, holding the M-11 Wraith up in a futile attempt to see through the blackness around them.

"Now, we'll have to find our own way out. Form up, let's get moving."

She said irritably as she began making her way through the stone passage. Kassaran glared daggers at Jane's back, feeling the old and familiar hate rise inside of her. This _Human_ … this… _Shepard_ …

"Yes… _Commander_."


	35. Mural

**Disclaimer: Most of the characters and all of the locations , technologies, concepts, etc that appear in this story are property of Bioware/EA.**

* * *

 **This is War**

"They couldn't have just _disappeared_! Run another scan, try to contact them! _Please_!"

'I will make another attempt, one moment.'

EDI's synthetic voice sounded from within Liara's radio. Had she any hair on her head, the Asari would have been pulling it out in frustration. They had lost contact with Shepard and Ankara as soon as they'd entered the City of the Ancients. But it wasn't just a loss of radio contact. EDI had immediately informed them that _all_ outgoing communications from the duo, including all hardsuit system transmissions, had suddenly ceased.

"There's always been communication disruption within the City, even with instruments designed for deep crust exploration. We've had centuries to figure out the cause, and we _still_ do not know the origin."

Eve said as the tomkah cabin shifted back and forth. Wrex growled down at his omni-tool. The holographic device displayed their path toward the Shroud facility.

"I've seen Krogan made o' lesser stuff than she come outta that place unscathed. She can do it. She has to."

"Seeing the Commander in action, we would be fools to think she won't find a way out."

Wiks agreed with Wrex from his seat next to Eve. The cabin sharply jerked to the side, forcing its occupants to sway along with the motion of the tomkah as it turned.

Mordin deactivated his omni-tool, having finished another assessment of the cure strain within the vial he held. There was no way to properly stress test its viability to the Krogan populace on such a grand scale as he had with the modified genophage, which was why Eve was sitting in the rust-colored cabin with them. She would provide the freshest sample of the cure to ensure the strain would be stable enough to survive the procedures necessary for the Shroud's weather stabilization system. The ex-STG operative looked up at the rest of the occupants around him.

"Skills at optimal capacity. Should not worry over her. _Must_ focus on approach to Shroud."

Liara's jaw clenched as she fought down another bout of nausea from a particularly hard turn before the momentum of the vehicle grinded to a halt. The Krogan clan leader shook his large head.

"You've gotta be kidding me…"

'Wrex!'

He lifted his omni-tool to accept the incoming call.

"Tell me that everything's fine and that the only reason we've stopped is ta' get a bite to eat."

Wreav's face scowled through the omni-tool.

'Just shut up and get out here, you need ta' see this.'

Wrex huffed in irritation as he stood from his seat and grabbed the latch of the tomkah door closed. With a twist and a metallic hiss, the door opened to reveal the vast desert of Tuchanka to the Krogan clan leader. Hopping out of the large metal vehicle, Wrex looked to his right to see the rest of the convoy come to a halt. To his left, he saw Wreav's own tomkah and a sight that made a disdainful scowl paint his face.

"Well, that's gonna complicate things."

'D'you see it?'

Wrex nodded his large head as he looked out at the vast landscape before him. Decrepit ruins laid themselves out before his eyes, evidence of what the Krogan once were. The Shroud stood in the distance, still spewing its off-green winds into Tuchanka's atmosphere.

"Yeah… I see it."

'What're we gonna do?'

The large Krogan huffed a small laugh.

"Y'know, for someone who wanted ta' shoot me earlier, yer pretty eager to take my orders."

'This isn't the time, you moron! We need a plan!'

The sound of boots hit the sand behind him with a muted _thump_.

"Wrex, what's happening? Why've we stopped?"

Liara asked as she came up to the clan leader's side. Wrex gave a low, guttural grunt as he pointed out to the ruins. Liara squinted and could see dark forms shifting within the area.

"Reaper troops… do you think we can-"

"Not them. The sands."

The Shadow Broker looked again for any sign of disturbance in the ground below. Finding none that her eyes could discern, Liara shifted her confused gaze back to her large friend.

"I don't see anything…"

Wrex crouched down, reaching a hand into the loose sandy soil before bringing the handful closer to his face.

"Wrex…?"

He allowed the sand to flow through his three fingers and looked out to the ruins again, a grim expression marring his scarred face.

"The desert's shifted… It's hunting season."

Liara's confusion only grew as she shot a befuddled expression at Wrex.

"Hunting season for what…?"

The Krogan turned to give a wry smile.

"Why d'yah think we built all those roads so high above the ground? C'mon, back in the truck. We don't have a lotta time."

"Wrex, I have an idea."

Eve's voice sounded from within the cabin as Wrex grasped the side of the tomkah to lift himself inside. The large Krogan grinned as he reentered the truck.

"If it doesn't involve a giant saddle, I'm gonna be disappointed."

Liara stayed where she stood for a moment, still confused, before looking back out to the vast expanse of ruins. The Shroud dominated the scene in the background, alongside the gigantic Reaper next to it. She could only hope they managed to get there in time. And that her Jane would make it there with them. She couldn't even _feel_ her Bond-mate anymore, a sensation that she hadn't experienced since the day she saw the SR1 explode into charred rubble right before her eyes with her lover _still inside_. It was a fact that succeeded in putting a worried crease on her brow as she turned to reenter the tomkah.

* * *

 _Shepard_ …

Red hair whipped side to side as Jane shook her head. Being in this place was… an experience. Shadows seemed like they were moving on the walls, just at the edges of her vision. She could hear noises, eerie sounds that were almost whispers. How long had they even been down here? Jane raised her Wraith to attempt to gain a better look down the hallway she and High-Sergeant Ankara were currently occupying.

The Turian behind her had been uncharacteristically silent for the majority of the walk, ever since their encounter with that strange Krogan. Though, according to past experiences, the Commander hoped Kassaran's mouth stayed shut until they were out of the City. It was stressful enough _just walking_ thought this place without her usual bitterness.

A sharp movement entered her perception and Jane immediately turned and trained her weapon forward, ready for anything to shoot out and assault her. What she found, however, made a dark red brow raise itself.

"What the…"

Upon the wall she faced was a mural. Most of the wall was cracked and splintered, many years of erosion eating away at the stone, but the images were clear enough to make out. The wall depicted what looked to be sources of fire in the shapes of Human men and women. All were painted with a light shade, severely faded with age and all arranged around a center figure. This being in the center had the same shape as the rest, yet it was colored a very dark brown, possibly black when it had first been painted. Below the conglomeration of fiery figures were what looked to be rows of Krogan, all with raised arms toward the beings above.

"Are those… Krogan _Gods_?"

"The only written record of Krogan deific worship states a long dead religious sect that extremely few, if _any_ Krogan are still part of. Even then, there was only one specific God mentioned… How old _is_ this place…?"

Kassaran said as she came up to join Jane and look at the mural herself. Jane frowned, thinking back to what the mysterious Krogan said to her as she looked at the dark figure at the center of the piece. After a moment, she shook herself and turned away.

"Another thing we'll ask about once we get _out_ of here."

The High-Sergeant looked at Shepard's retreating form before turning to follow after casting one last glance at the mural. For a brief second, she felt a shiver run up her spine. The strange sensation settled in the back of her neck, and Ankara couldn't help but roll her head to feel the satisfying _pop_. Another glare settled on her face as she trailed behind the Commander. A strange clarity washed over her, and Kassaran couldn't tell how it came about or where it came from. But it made the hard stare she held on the armored back of Commander Shepard that much more intense.

 _Shepard_ …

Jane ignored the whispers she heard as they trudged along at a slightly quicker pace. They needed to find an exit as soon as possible.

* * *

"What the hell is goin' on?"

Adrien Victus turned to see Lieutenant Vega and Garrus Vakarian enter the war room, firm frowns on both their faces. Crew members and data analysis specialists rushed about the circular room, trying to figure out the cause of the most recent situation.

"What happened? Shepard and Ankara's vitals have stopped transmitting."

Garrus said as he joined the Primarch at the holo-table. Victus sighed.

"The Commander and the High-Sergeant entered an ancient Krogan ruin underground. We haven't had contact since. We believe it might be magnetic interference, but…"

The Archangel looked at the displayed data before him.

"If it were magnetic, we would at _least_ be getting static."

James hunched himself over the holo-table, giving a hard and worried stare at the simulated Tuchanka environment. The mortar convoy was steadily approaching the Shroud while the Turian fighter squadron was on stand-by. Only Liara's, Padok's, and Mordin's vital signs were being transferred back to the Normandy while Jane's and Kassaran's were eerily blank.

"What the heck're you doing, Lola…?"

Adrien shook his head beside Garrus.

"Let's hope she can make it out in time for the distraction plan to work. They'll only have a small window to enter the Shroud without the Reaper noticing, and Artimec is running out of fuel."

"She's been through worse. If anyone can make it out, she can."

Victus gave a sidelong look to the former C-sec officer. He knew Garrus was speaking from experience. His numerous reports and write-ups depicted, in detail, the Commander coming out of situations that would have broken anyone else beyond repair. A simple conversation with him about Shepard would reveal an underlying devotion to the Human woman, a conviction that tied his fate to that of his Commander's. Just from talking with him, Adrien knew Garrus had the utmost faith in her, just as Wrex did.

However, Garrus' faith in Jane was _not_ at the forefront of the Archangel's mind as he stared down at the holo-table. His worry came from another source.

 _Don't do something stupid, Ankara…_

* * *

"…What the _hell_ is this…?"

Shepard gaped at the wall before her. The light from her shotgun shined onto the dusty stone, particles of sand and dirt floating through the beam as she stood, dumbfounded at what she saw.

After several more minutes of wandering the halls of the City of the Ancients, the duo happened upon another wall mural. However, this one depicted what Jane considered to be the impossible. Black figures, faded from the test of time, rose high up to the ceiling. They looked to be trees. The dust and cobwebs adorning the wall almost made the painted ground appear misty and murky while darkly colored clouds were touched by black branches.

 _That_ place. Why was _that_ place here? Why was it on a wall that was no doubt thousands upon thousands of years old? It made _no_ sense!

Before Shepard could ponder the reason the wall depicted something that simply shouldn't exist, another source of light bathed the back of her armor, creating a dark shadow upon the wall. Jane turned slightly to see another unexpected sight.

"Ankara…?"

Through the almost blinding light, Kassaran's taller form was enshrouded by the opposing darkness, nearly making her invisible. The M-5 Predator pistol in her hand pointed directly at Jane.

"What do you think your-"

"Silence."

The High-Sergeant's sharp response rang out through the air. Jane's frown deepened on her face.

"Anka-"

"I said silence! You don't deserve to say that name."

Shepard was slightly taken aback by the tone Kassaran was using, visibly reeling back as the walls shook around the duo.

"We don't have time fo-"

Before Jane could finish her statement, a loud _pang_ filled the space. A portion of the wall beside Jane's head was burned black from the impact of a metal slug. Jane's shocked expression melted into a harsh glare as her grip tightened on her Wraith. How far did this Turian's hatred of her race run?

"… You _sure_ you wanna do this…?"

Ankara sneered at the Commander from behind her weapon.

"Before I do, I want to ask you a few things."

Another tremor shook the ground on which they stood, causing more dirt and sand to fall from the ceiling. Jane's glower intensified.

"The convoy is on its way to the Shroud _right now_ and you want to play twenty-questions!?"

"You'll be lucky if it even _gets_ to twenty."

Kassaran held her pistol firmly with her left hand. Jane knew she was at a disadvantage. Ankara had the drop on her, and she'd seen just how fast the High-Sergeant was. If she charged forward now, there was too large a chance that she would end up with a blade in her throat. Shepard decided to play along for now, if only to get out of this situation as fast as she could without violence.

"…Fine."

An eerie stillness filled the air for several seconds that seemed to stretch on for an unnaturally long time. Another softer quake shook the room in which they stood.

"Twenty-one-seventy-six. You were in the Petra Nebula. Vetus system. What planet?"

Jane's brow rose at the question, unknowing of the implication behind it.

"Elysium."

"Why?"

Shepard couldn't suppress the humorless chuckle that bubbled up through her throat.

"'Shore leave.' You satisfied with that? Or do you want the truth?"

Ankara's hard stare didn't change as she stood unmoving.

"I've read the news reports. I found them superfluous filled with lies."

Another snicker filled the silence.

"One thing we agree on."

" _Why_ were you there? An overseer for the Human and Turian assembly? Guard posting for military trials?"

The Commander let out a soft sigh.

"Prisoner… for one of those trials."

The answer made pale brow-plates rise ever-so slightly.

"What crime?"

Emerald green looked down to the stone floor that was shrouded in darkness before looking back up into cat-like eyes that almost seemed to glow against the blackness around them.

"…Treason."

* * *

 **It's been a while, hasn't it? I hope all of you are having a very happy holiday.**


	36. Judgement

**Disclaimer: Most of the characters and all of the locations, technologies, concepts, etc that appear in this story are property of Bioware/EA**

* * *

 **This is War**

"Set up mortars along this ridge! We'll give 'em one hell'uva surprise!"

Wreav shouted as several Krogan rushed past him, carrying large military-grade launchers and setting them onto the sandy ground. The dry desert air combined with the harsh Tuchanka sun made the environment nearly stifling as Liara hopped out of the tomkah alongside Captain Wiks. The Shadow Broker looked onto the ruins below them. A large structure rose up from the stone remnants, colored a dark blue and bearing a resemblance to what Kasumi had reportedly encountered during the last operation. Wrex huffed a loud breath as he came up next to his brother.

"Don't overdo it! We don't wanna piss _her_ off before we're ready ta' take the Shroud."

Wrex ignored the glare he received before turning to the mortar squads.

"Only use enough to take _that_ thing down. It'll at least buy us a little bit o' time before Reaper reinforcements show up. Besides, Shepard would be disappointed if we didn't leave any for her."

The clan-chief grinned. Wreav scowled at his brother as he grunted noisily.

"We can't just sit and wait for this Human bitch! We need to act _now_ \- urgh!"

A loud _crack_ silenced him. His forehead plate ached from the blow he sustained while Wrex shot his own sharp look at Wreav.

"She'll _be_ here. So why don't you make yourself useful fer once and help with the mortars."

Another hard glare was sent in Wrex's direction before Wreav moved to join the Krogan preparing several mortar canons. Captain Wiks frowned at the sight of the Shroud, standing tall beside the comparatively shorter Reaper Destroyer.

"… Over one thousand years of suffering… because of _us_."

Liara looked over to Padok. It was obvious to see the pain on his thin face. There was no doubt that he deeply regretted his race's use of the genophage virus. An understandable regret, even if he wasn't there during its deployment. The Shadow Broker smiled at the STG captain.

"After this is over, things will have a chance to get better for the Krogan."

Wiks looked down to the sandy ground beneath his boots, watching the particles of dust and dirt shift with the gentle breeze.

"We can only hope."

A quiet beep from Liara's omni-tool stole her attention. Lifting a hand up, the shimmering, glowing device materialized as she, Wrex and Wiks heard EDI's voice.

'There is an unidentified heat signature approaching the convoy from the west. Scans indicate… _troubling_ lifesigns. Caution is advised.'

The three of them immediately turned around to the cliff face behind where the tomkah's were parked. Atop the immense rock formation, nearly shrouded in light, was a figure. Their form was barely discernible as a Krogan. Wrex squinted his eyes in an attempt to peer through the harsh glare of the sun. The sight his eyes found was something that only filled him with dread.

"…Grenn…?"

The Krogan at the top of the cliff before them extended an arm backward; grabbing what appeared to be a cudgel from its back, as large as a Krogan torso. With a swift swinging motion, the hammer was brought down, resounding loudly into the air with a massive _**crash**_ of steel upon stone that could even be heard from the convoy's position. Liara slightly jumped at the unexpected sound echoing throughout the valley as Wiks looked down again at the dirt. The wind had stopped, the dirt had settled, and the air was uncannily still.

Wrex turned to the rest of the group, an expression of pure horror on his wide face.

" **Back in the trucks!** _ **NOW**_ -!"

Before anyone could even follow the order, the ground beneath them shook with intense force. Suddenly, an enormous beast burst out from the earth, dwarfing the large vehicles they had ridden to get here and rising high into the sky above and launching rock and dirt into the air.

" _ **Shit**_! We've got a _maw_!"

Wreav yelled. Liara could only stare in awe at the gigantic thresher maw. She had only seen several of the massive beasts during those times she'd been brought along to an operation on an uncharted world during her stay aboard the original Normandy. But _none_ of her memories of them could even compare to the mechanized _thing_ before them. The beast's tough skin, which was normally of a tan coloring was a pale gray, cracked and splitting in many areas. The underside of it facing them was torn open, revealing horrible, twisted metal and decayed viscera that slopped off of its giant form with each movement. Its two arm-like pincers twitched as it rose up to its full height to stare down at the convoy. The creature's large face was an amalgam of metal pieces and glowing red eyes. Its signature mouth was filled with mangled steel and fleshy tendrils.

The Reapers had even enslaved several of these _already_ frightening monstrosities? The towering creature stared down at her, almost _specifically_ at her. The thought put a terrified shiver through her spine. Silence permeated the air for several moments before the beast opened its mouth further to release an overwhelmingly loud roar, tapering off into an ear shattering screech that would scar even the stoutest of minds.

* * *

"Explain."

Ankara said as she continued to point the M-5 Predator pistol at Commander Shepard. Jane glared at the High-Sergeant through the bright light the pistol emitted, and failed to hide the spite in her voice.

"Short version: An order came, and I followed it."

The cabal warrior narrowed her eyes at Jane.

"And the long version…?"

Shepard could only laugh bitterly as she stared down at the pistol before lifting her gaze back up to piercing green eyes.

"You _really_ think we have the time for this? How's about you get to the _point_."

The accompanying silence was broken by another strong rumble of the earth around them. Ankara took a brief look at the stone room.

"… You may be right. Your circumstances are interesting… but ultimately not my concern."

"I honestly don't see how _any_ of this is a concern when we have a _real_ problem to deal with _right now_."

" _You're_ the one making this take so long, if you insist on continuing with your unnecessary interruptions."

The red-head briefly wondered if her face would simply fall off at how hard she was scowling at Kassaran.

"Now, during your… 'stay' at the colony, the planet came under attack. By who?"

Jane shifted her weight from one foot to the next, an un-amused expression tinting her features.

"Batarian mercs and warlords."

"In an assault that would come to be known as…?"

A dark red brow rose up in curiosity.

"… The Skyllian Blitz."

* * *

"Behind the rocks! Get the mortars outta here! Keep the female _safe at all costs_!"

Wrex howled as he unhooked the Claymore heavy shotgun from his back, firing a round up at the Reaper-modified thresher maw. The shot did nothing to stop the beast from rearing backwards and thrusting its large body downward, slamming into a nearby tomkah as its claws tore into its hull and tore the vehicle in two. The Krogan littering the field ran about, finding cover behind tomkahs and the scattered pieces of rough stone while hauling as many launchers with them as they could.

Liara ducked down beside a nearby boulder, unhooking the pistol from her side. Wrex fired a carnage round at the enormous animal as it attempted to dislodge its appendage from the flaming tomkah before joining Liara in cover.

"Rrgh! That's not _her_. We got lucky."

The Asari turned toward her former squadmate, a riled look in her eyes.

" _This_ is us getting lucky!? Who was that Krogan, did they summon this… thing!?"

Wrex frowned as he glanced up at the cliff face. The figure was gone without a trace.

"I'll tell yah about it _after_ we deal with this _pest_! All fire squads focus on the mouth! Keep its trap _shut_ and keep the tomkah's in place! It'll target any movement on the field!"

* * *

"You are familiar with the aftermath of the event, yes? Media reports showcasing your 'heroic' actions and the like?"

The Commander's silent stare was enough of an indication. Ankara smirked slightly.

"Then… are you aware of the _Hierarchy's_ response to the incident?"

Shepard's brow furrowed at the question.

"I know they didn't exactly enjoy it. From what I heard, they officially ousted the Hegemony as a rogue nation and declared any Batarian ship within Council space an immediate hostile threat. Beyond that… not much else."

A soft breath of air left the High-Sergeant as the cocky smirk spread wider on her face, yet to Jane, it didn't seem to be an expression of amusement.

"Yes, you are correct. However… there is _one_ detail that has seemed to elude the conversation."

Her grip on the pistol tightened as she shifted her gaze up to the illuminated wall behind the Commander. What she saw only fanned the flames within her.

"There were, reportedly, twenty-seven individual units of Turian soldiers, diplomats, recorders and journalists deployed to Elysium during that year, under a banner of peace and to aid with the Assembly. An act of 'good will' to the Alliance to show that the Turian race harbored no hatred to your kind after the three-fourteen incident. But…"

Ankara squinted her eyes as her other hand came up to scratch at the back of her head.

"If I recall…only twenty- _six_ made it back to the Apien Crest after the Blitz."

 _Shepard…_

Jane grimaced. Trying to will the whispers away.

"Twenty-six… The Alliance sent their _deepest_ condolences for those who had 'given their lives' for the colony."

Kassaran's words twisted into a sound that could only be described as pure spite while her eyes burned green against the dark.

"And while the battle was, indeed, a success…"

 _Shepard…_

The Commander's eyes widened as she felt a shiver run up her spine.

" _I_ … had to stand over _three graves_ …"

* * *

Padok ducked down behind a nearby boulder as more debris flew overhead. The thresher maw writhed about under the hailing gunfire, sending dirt and stone into the air and toppling three tomkahs. Wiks knelt down onto the sand beneath him, aiming his Raptor rifle upwards. Closing one eye and slowing his breathing, the Salarian Captain squeezed the trigger and sent several rounds into an angrily glowing eye thrashing above. The beast reared backward, shrieking in pain. Wiks smirked briefly before his expression quickly gave way to fright as the enormous creature turned its rage-filled gaze on the Salarian.

Wiks immediately turned and ran as fast as his thin legs could carry him as the maw barreled straight through the stone cover. Rushing to the foot of the cliff, the Salarian dove off to the side, very narrowly avoiding the thousands of tons of thresher maw charging directly into the side of the cliff. Scrambling to his feet, the STG operative scurried to a nearby rock formation.

The gigantic maw separated itself from the side of the cliff with an angry screech before releasing another loud howl of pain as a powerful carnage round struck its side. The flames only intensified as a warp blast connected with the searing flesh, exploding into a ball of bright orange among the hail of gunfire.

"The mouth! Focus on _the mouth_!"

Wrex yelled as he fired his shotgun at the beast. The thresher maw rose up high into the air, looking down onto the nearby tomkah as it was firing the mounted canons atop its metal form into the beast. With another high-pitched growl, the creature reared back and opened its large jaws. Completely ignoring the countless slugs firing into its face, the maw thrust forward, releasing a large amount of highly corrosive acid at the vehicle. Within just a few seconds, the tomkah's canons stopped firing as the metal material was eaten away and simply slid off of the vehicle in a melted, bubbling soup of rusted steel. The thresher maw shifted backwards again and brought its head down, slamming into the tomkah as its blades easily carved into the rust-colored steel.

Liara looked on in horror as the vehicle was torn apart with an outward movement of its claws, sending one half of the tomkah in one direction while the other careened into another vehicle with enough force to topple it onto its side. They needed to drive this monster away, before it targeted the tomkah in which Eve and Mordin were present.

* * *

Shepard stared in shock at the Turian. Was _that_ what all this was about? Was _that_ the reason… was _she_ the reason Kassaran…

The Turian herself took a small moment, blinking rapidly, trying to recompose herself. A soft sight escaped her throat as another hard glare set into her eyes

"The name of the detachment. What was it?"

"Ankar-"

"I **asked** you a question!"

Another low rumble shook the stone room. Jane swallowed the lump in her throat, clenching her jaw as she saw… no… _felt_ the shadows around her writhe and twist.

"The… the five-oh-eighth regime."

Ankara's resentful sneer turned into a malicious glare as she gripped her Predator tighter.

"They were to be the guard force for the majority of the trials within the colony. I would imagine they would have overseen _yours_ as well."

 _Shepard…_

Jane's pained scowl deepened as the dull ache in her head that had been present ever since delving into the ruins suddenly worsened into a throbbing sting.

"… What happened to them?"

The Commander's brow rose again at the question.

"What…?"

"The Alliance claimed that they gave their lives to defend the colony. The Hierarchy accepted the explanation well enough. But I don't think either side knows the whole story…"

The High-Sergeant said as her eyes flicked up again to the mural before they came back down to glare into squinting emerald.

"… And I get the feeling _you_ do. So I will ask again."

Jane felt the hairs on her neck stand on-end, and she had to suppress the urge to bring a hand up to make _sure_ nothing was there.

" _What happened_?"

* * *

The scent of burning metal and melted rock filled the air as Liara ducked down behind a boulder. The tomkahs parked on the ridge fired up into the writhing monstrosity, earning another loud _screech_ as the beast spat more acid down onto the battle field.

"Wrex! This isn't working!"

Liara shouted as she launched another warp field into the thresher maw before firing her pistol again. Many Krogan on the ridge ran to and fro, firing their own weapons up into the creature while trying to avoid the growing pools of steaming green acid. The Shadow Broker did the best she could in trying to ignore those who… weren't so lucky in avoiding the corrosive blasts.

'Rgh! Gimmie a sec! _Wreav_! Where the hell are you!?'

She looked across the rocky plane to see Wrex speak to his brother before another monstrous roar stole her attention. She looked back up just in time to see the thresher maw lean backward, raising an enormous claw into the air and bringing it down at a frightening speed. Panicking for a moment, Liara sprinted out from her cover, dodging the razor-sharp blade as it easily sliced the large rock in two.

As she ran for her life, she couldn't help but feel the backs of her eyes prickle with tears. Where was Shepard? Where was her Jane?

* * *

"They fought valiantly… every member of that platoon is a hero-"

"Oh, don't give me that. I didn't buy it from the news reports; I'm _certainly_ not going to buy it here. _You_ were _there_. _What happened_?"

Jane lowered her gaze to the ground. She had held this inside for _ten_ years. She hadn't told a single soul what she did. The only one who knew, the _only_ person she trusted so wholly and completely, was Liara. And even then, they had _never_ talked about it. Because Liara _saw_ it. She saw it while exploring the depths of Jane's mind. She _saw_ , and she _felt_ , and she _understood_. Understood the pain, understood the regret, understood _why_ Jane pushed herself so hard to the point of breaking.

Understood why the destruction of Bahak had brought the Commander to her knees.

And now, this Turian was looking for retribution for her sin. She knew lying would only make matters worse. That, and Jane had never been a very good liar in the first place. Shepard lifted her eyes back up to peer at Ankara.

"… It was my fault."

She held her gaze steady. It was time she fessed up. She willed the encroaching shadows away. She wouldn't allow the whispers to torture her further. She felt them, but she held them off for as long as she could.

"I killed them."

Cat-like green irises widened for a fraction of a second before narrowing further.

"… _Explain_."

Jane took a moment to recall the memories that perpetuated her unrelenting nightmares. Smells of smoke, burning corpses, toppled buildings.

"Elysium was primarily a civilian planet, set up by the Alliance to welcome all species. The detachments deployed there were the largest the planet had ever seen. There was no need for anything more than a local militia and structural defenses. The Alliance kept a hands-off policy, and allowed Elysium to rule itself. A true 'paradise' planet and the perfect neutral ground for a Joint Assembly to take place… They weren't ready for a full-on assault."

She remembered the faces. Terrified civilians fleeing. Soldiers lying dead on the ground.

"When the attack began, I managed to escape from my cell. I met up with the five-oh-eighth during the initial assault, but things were already falling apart."

Screams of pure horror and agony filled her ears. The disgusting stench of disintegrated remains.

"There wasn't enough time to set up proper defenses… Batarians were _everywhere_ in minutes."

 _Shepard_ …

Emerald eyes snapped shut. The faces surrounded her.

"I…"

She felt them. Taunting her.

 _Shepard…_

Mocking her.

 _Your fault_ …

 _Threatening_ her.

 _Killed us_ …

They came in waves now. Faces that weren't Human. Faces of _Turians_. Each and every one unique. Burned into her memory forever. Forever following her. Corrupting her dreams.

"…I…"

Her knees felt weak. She felt like she would fall. Her breath felt shallow. Her teeth clenched and her grip on the weapon in her hands tightened.

"…You _what_ …?"

Jane's eyes opened, and what she found hidden behind glowing green gave her an epiphany. Ankara's eyes held hatred. Loathing. Resentment. But behind them - _behind_ the anger- was grief. Pain. Desperation. _Sadness_. Emotion poured forth from her eyes, and Jane had a sudden and inexplicable hyper-awareness of the situation. The way her hand shook as she held the Predator. Her stance was shaky, as if it took a great effort to keep from collapsing. The wetness at the edges of her feline eyes.

This Turian… This woman had lost _everything_. Jane could see it, just from her eyes. She was looking for someone to blame -someone to _hate_ \- to hide her pain.

The act of disobeying a commanding officer was punishable by death in Turian society, for both the perpetrator and the one who promoted them. In this action, Ankara may as well have committed suicide by Turian standards. Kassaran was risking _all_ that she was for this.

"Who were they?"

Pale brow plates rose up at the question. Jane stood strong against the shadows.

"The three graves. Who do they belong to?"

The High-Sergeant's eyes flicked upward again as a sharp inhale was heard. Her eyelids slid closed for a moment. Only silence was present.

"… Ank-"

"Tibetius."

Sharp, green eyes revealed themselves in the sea of darkness, behind her shining pistol.

"Aurous."

Jane held her ground as the Turian stepped forward.

"Myrall."

She stopped just a few feet from Shepard. The intense light streaming from the pistol she held was enough to make Jane wince.

"My husband. My son. My daughter."

Dark red brows furrowed in slight confusion.

"I… didn't see any kids-"

Kassaran shook her head before Shepard could continue.

"They weren't children. They were trained. Fit. _Ready_. They would take the Oath and swear by their lives to serve the Hierarchy. Something that would make _any_ Turian mother proud."

She blinked several times in an attempt to keep herself composed. If she fell apart now…

"'Tius-… _Tibetius_ wanted to bring them to Elysium. He wanted to _show_ them. Show them that _we_ -"

She gestured with a three-digit hand.

"-didn't have to be enemies. That after incident three-fourteen, Humans could be _trusted_."

A small, humorless chuckle left the Turian's throat that seemed to bounce off of the stone walls around them.

"He was a fool. A well-meaning optimist. He simply wanted what was best for everyone around him. Always put others before himself. Wanted the next generation to grow under a meme of _peace_. With the knowledge that anyone could be a friend and ally."

Jane looked in sympathy to the High-Sergeant. Pain was evident on her face. Her posture slackened. She was barely holding herself together.

"He was a fool… and I _loved_ him."

A sharp glare set itself into swirling black and green.

"And now he's gone. So… tell me… _war hero_ …"

She said with venom dripping from her words.

"… How did my husband die? How did my _family_ die?"

* * *

Wrex ducked down behind the rust-red metal of a tomkah as it fired its own cannon. The grip on his Claymore heavy shotgun tightened as a breath passed through sharp, clenched teeth. He could hear the screams surrounding him. His _people_ in pain. At the hands of this _thing_. The Reapers. And that _Krogan_ …

A loud, metallic titter hit his awareness and Wrex looked up to see the gigantic maw staring down onto his cover. He had only a moment before the beast gave another monstrous roar, spewing broken metal and corrupted blood from its mouth as it lifted itself higher into the sky. With a startling speed, the creature brought its head down, smashing into the tomkah and turning it into a chaotic mess of metal as the Krogan leader ran out into the open.

"C'mon, you piece of _shit_! I've had breakfasts bigger than you!"

"Wrex! What are you doing!?"

Liara shouted from her own cover behind a truck. Wrex began stepping forward toward the Reaper-thrall, firing his weapon with abandon.

"You think you can come here!? To our _home_!? And take _everything_ from us!?"

Another loud discharge filled the air as super-heated slugs found themselves imbedded into the beast's face.

"We won't back down! Not now! Not _ever_!"

A carnage round burst into flames on the maw's face. Wrex continued his advance, keeping the corrupted creature's attention.

"And even if we fall, _you_! _Will_! _**Not**_! _Break_! _Us_!"

Each exclamation was punctuated by another shotgun blast into the beast's face.

"'Cause this is _our_ planet! You're on _our_ turf! You think you can scare us!? We've had _centuries_ to forget what fear felt like!"

Wrex stood against the towering giant of a creature, craning his head upward to face the beast with defiant eyes.

" _ **SO YOU'D BETTER COME HERE LOOKIN' FOR A FIGHT!**_ "

Without warning, devastating explosions erupted on the thresher maw's sides. Out of its field of vision, lines of Krogan with steel mortar launchers fired into the beast. The maw released a pained roar as gray smoke enveloped its body before even more explosions tore at its flesh. Wrex looked off to his left, seeing his brother manning a mortar alongside his kinsman. Wrex raised his fist into the air, signaling the Krogan around him to stop their assault.

The massive, corrupted maw gave a weakened (yet still ear-grating) screech as it burrowed back down underneath the earth. The Krogan on the battlefield howled and yelled in triumph, believing to have been rid of the monstrosity. The clan leader, however, was uncharacteristically still as he held his gaze at the ground, eyes narrowed. He heard light steps coming up behind him, yet they were not the center of his focus.

"Wrex! Are you alright?"

The Krogan gave an unintelligible grunt as he began walking past Liara to his right, gaze running along the ground.

"Wrex…?"

He immediately snapped his head forward, looking past the parked tomkahs to the ridge wall before giving a low growl.

"…We're not done yet."

The cracking of stone and rock caught Liara's attention. She looked to the face of the cliff, seeing the brown stone splinter, and then shatter completely in a violent burst of dust and sand. The force sent two more tomkahs over the edge of the ridge. The familiar metallic roar and shriek filled the valley as the beast turned toward the rest of the convoy. Its skin was even more scarred and cracked from the mortar strike, with pieces simply falling off of its form.

"Damn it! Persistent son-of-a-bitch! Ready another volley!"

Wreav shouted as he and several more Krogan began turning their mortars in the maw's direction where it had come out of the cliff face. Liara grit her teeth at the creature before she saw something peculiar. The steel shoved into its mouth began... _glowing_. The Shadow Broker's features took on an exasperated look.

"Goddess…"

It would seem the metal in its enormous maw wasn't simply for show. That much was obvious as red beam spewed forth, making the same horrid sound as a Reaper's energy discharge as it scorched whatever was in its path.

* * *

Crimson locks shadowed her eyes as she looked down to the dusty stone beneath her boots. She remembered their faces. Each and every one of them.

"…I _killed_ them."

Jane repeated. Emerald eyes snapped back up to meet with glowing green.

"Batarians were closing on our position. There was no time to think, or plan. So I made a decision. One that's followed me ever since."

She took a step forward.

"I _chose_. I left the five-oh-eighth. I left them to _die_. I _sacrificed_ them so that I could get the orbital canons online to push the enemy ships back long enough for reinforcements to arrive. If I had stayed, _maybe_ a few of them would've made it, at the risk of Elysium's destruction. A risk that I wasn't willing to take."

Ankara had to take a step back at the intensity within the Commander's eyes.

"I _saved_ the colony… and I've _hated_ myself ever since."

* * *

"Should flee, must keep you safe."

Eve turned to grab the Salarian's arm as he tried getting up from his seat.

"No. I will not run away while my people die."

Mordin whipped his head around back to his patient.

"Situation unreasonably dangerous! Can use time bought by other Krogan to escape to Shroud, contact Artimec, proceed with plan-"

Another muted explosion was heard from outside the walls of the tomkah. A low growl resounded off of the steel walls around them as Eve tightened her grip on Mordin's wrist.

"My _people_ are not pawns to be sacrificed. I will stay and I will be what the Krogan need me to be!"

"At what cost!?"

The Salarian shouted as he glowered down at Eve, pulling his arm out of her grasp.

"This pain. This suffering. Because of us. Because of _me_! _Refuse_ to risk future of Krogan! Not now! _My_ _responsibi-_!"

"It is mine as well!"

Eve stood from her seat, matching Mordin's gaze with her own.

"Your guilt may drive you, but this is _my_ race's fate. I will _see_ this through with my people, whatever path it takes. _I_ will _not_ flee!"

Their altercation could go no further before the tomkah rocked back and forth as a loud, muted roar boomed outside.

* * *

Liara ducked down to avoid the rock and debris thrown about by the thrashing beast as it reared its head upwards into the air. The twisted metal in its mouth glowed for a moment before another bright red beam shot down onto the battlefield, instantly turning several Krogan into nothing but blackened dust.

A carnage round soared past the Asari to cover a portion of the maw's face in bright red flames, stopping its attack briefly before screeching in anger. Liara took the opportunity to launch her own warp blast at the corrupted creature, watching as the ensuing explosion engulfed the thresher maw, but did little to deter its advance.

The massive beast moved along the ridge, ignoring the near constant rain of mortar strikes upon its hide before locking its eyes upon one specific vehicle.

"Damn it! Just get the female outta here! Go! _Now_!"

Wrex yelled over the gunfire, letting loose several shots from his claymore in an attempt to gain the maw's attention. The tomkah's wheels screeched and marked the dirt beneath their thick rubber. Yet, just as it began moving, the large vehicle could go nowhere as a large globule of acid coated its back wheels, almost instantly melting the metal and rubber and solidifying it to the ground.

" _ **Fuck**_! Hey! Over here! I'm not done with you yet!"

The Krogan clan chief roared as he fired another carnage round into the beast's hide, but to no avail. The thresher maw continued its advance and stood staggeringly tall over the tomkah that Mordin and Eve resided inside.

Liara looked at the enormous beast's head, eyes widening at the now glowing metallic fragments within its mouth. Without hesitation, the Shadow Broker ran out onto the battlefield.

" _ **LIARA!**_ "

* * *

"I regret what I did, _every single day_. I see them, every time I close my eyes."

Jane growled as she felt the hand at her side clench into a fist.

"For _ten years_ I've had to live with myself. Live with… being a fucking _hypocrite_."

A hollow laugh escaped her lips.

" _Savior of Elysium_ … _war hero_ …"

A sharp _clack_ of metal upon stone was heard as the M-11 Wraith dropped to the floor.

"… I _willingly_ sacrificed their lives. Something that's so beyond _disgusting_ to me. Something that I _swore_ I wouldn't do again."

Until Kaiden. Until Bahak. Emerald green rose back up to shining jade.

"Something that will be with me until the day I die…"

Ankara tried holding her gaze steady with Shepard's, but she would find the task more than difficult.

"… but it isn't something that I'm going to let _control_ me."

* * *

Wrex stood in awe of the sight before him. The intense beam of energy was held off by a blue biotic layer of dark energy encircling the tomkah. Its source was none-other than the Asari herself.

Liara grit her teeth as she held the barrier. Pain quickly rimmed her skull as she felt every muscle in her body cry out in pure _agony_. Even just a few seconds under this much stress was nearly enough to force her to the ground. Blinding red was all she could see around her, and she knew that _she_ was the last obstacle standing between this beast and its prey.

She wouldn't let all of their work be for nothing. She would _not_ allow all of _Jane's_ work be for nothing. She didn't even know if Shepard was still alive, but it didn't matter. They had come this far. If it were to end here, Liara would spend _everything_ that she was.

She would not go down silently.

* * *

Kassaran shook her head.

"You think this _matters_? I couldn't give a _shit_ about your guilty conscious! I lost _everything_ because of you!"

She was losing her composure. Her hand quaked as a shiver of sorrow ran up her spine.

"My family, my _children_ , my _future_! What have _you_ lost besides a few nights of sleep!?

The Turian felt tears stream from her eyes. She gave one last look to the mural behind the Commander, seeing her home. _Their_ home. They had built it together. Called it their own. Made it a place of warmth. A place of happiness. Of hope.

A place that did not exist anymore. Kassaran turned her eyes back down to Shepard, face burning with rage and contempt.

" _ **Why should**_ **you** _ **live, when they**_ **DIED**!?"

Jane looked at the High-Sergeant for a moment before looking down in thought.

"… I'm not the one who has the answer to that."

"Then who!? Who the **FUCK** do you think has the answer to it!? I'd _really_ like to know!"

Several seconds passed in silence before Shepard uttered a single word as her face tightened.

"… You."

* * *

She was numb. Liara could no longer feel her arms. It felt as if she had been in this position for hours as her limbs shook from the massive force she held back. Her biotics were straining and she wasn't sure if she could hold out for much longer. But she had to. She _had_ to give the Krogan more time to come up with _something_ to draw the creature's attention.

Adjusting her stance, Liara dug deep and held as much dark energy she could muster to keep the powerful energy blast at bay. She felt light-headed, her barrier becoming unstable under such an intense barrage. She tried reinforcing the blue shield with power from her own personal barrier, but the force of the beam was simply too great.

A clear tear ran down the Shadow Broker's cheek as she heard a clear and distinct _crack_ of her barrier amidst the loud flow of energy around her.

* * *

"What…?"

Jane held the hard gaze at Kassaran, unfaltering even for a second.

"I've been wondering that exact same thing. _Why_ am I alive, while they're dead? For the longest time I just couldn't answer it for myself."

Shepard looked down at her empty palms, gloved fingers open.

"Now I realize… It was never a question I could answer. It was yours."

The look in her eyes softened slightly before lifting back up.

" _I_ wronged you. _I'm_ responsible. So pass your judgment on _me_. But before you do…would your family _want_ you to do this?"

Kassaran took a step back, face aghast and appalled.

"You… you think it matters what they would want? They're _gone_! It doesn't matter what they want because they're **_d_** _ **ead**_!"

"Yes! They're dead. The past is already written, but _you're_ still here. _You're_ their memory. Their epitaph. They don't need gravestones, because you're the living reminder of their existence!"

Jane shouted as another hard quake shook the stone room, her voice bouncing off of the packed, decrepit walls.

"Would _you_ want the lives they've lived all leading up to a glorified _murder_?"

* * *

The barrier shattered with the force of the blast and Liara was sent to the ground as the powerful beam dissipated into the air. Her body felt broken, her mind bruised and battered. She could hardly breathe, as if her lungs had barely any strength left in them.

Above the Asari, the thresher maw rose up to look down at the battlefield. Liara shakily rolled onto her side in an attempt to lift herself despite every tissue within her body begging her to rest. Her vision blurred as she looked back up to the horrible creature.

* * *

"It would be _justice_! To bring consequence to the person so far beyond the concept _of_ consequence that the rest of the galaxy sees her has a _saint_! While _I_ see her as a _sin_!

"And how many would you condemn to the same fate as yours if you do this!?"

Ankara paused in her hate fuelled tirade.

"How many people are in pain, _right now_? How many have lost their lives? Their families? Their _homes_! How many would fall into the hell you've been through if you extinguish the glimmer of hope we're working for here?"

Glowing jade widened a fraction of an inch. A near indiscernible detail, but Jane noticed it. She noticed, and she knew she had her opening.

"You do this… and you'll risk condemning the galaxy to your darkness until the Reapers destroy what's left."

* * *

She stood on trembling legs, staring boldly and hazily up at the beast. A gloved hand lifted itself up into the air. Her biotics were all but spent, but she would try. She would not allow herself to stay down. In the face of hopelessness, she would stand.

The maw reared backward as the metal stretching its misshaped jaw lit up in a red glow again.

* * *

"This is _your_ choice. But you have to be ready to live with the consequences. You want justice?"

Jane activated her omni-tool, and manually disabled her barriers. The protection fell and left her vulnerable.

"Here it is."

The High-Sergeant released a shocked gasp as Shepard stood tall and straight, staring her directly in her eyes. The pistol shook in a three-digit hand, its aim swaying with each unsteady breath.

"I… you… you should die… I should…"

The Commander took a step forward, extending her arms to her sides. The hard-edged gaze didn't falter.

"I…"

The finger squeezed the trigger. A gunshot could be heard throughout the halls of the City of the Ancients.

* * *

The thresher maw screeched in pain as a massive explosion tore at its back and interrupted the charging of its attack. Liara looked up above the beast and saw her savior: several Turian designed ship soaring overhead.

'This is Wing Artimec Captain Octarius! Providing cover to the convoy! All combatants, move _away_ from the thresher maw immediately!'

Another large explosion engulfed the maw in bright flames and dark smoke. The Asari could only watch as the constant bursts of ordinance forced the Reaper-enthralled creature to the dirt of the cliff. The thing's flesh was torn asunder by bullets and missiles, with mortar strikes from yelling Krogan adding to the chaotic sight. Within just seconds, the maw slumped to the side and no longer moved in thrashing patterns, screaming and roaring.

Liara fell to her knees and breathed heavily, hungry lungs taking in as much of the dry Tuchanka air as possible. Every muscle in her body may as well have been _screaming_ at her as her arms shakily held herself up from the brown dirt. It was only then that she saw clear liquid drop onto the ground below her. She felt hot tears on her cheeks. She still couldn't feel her lover. Where was she?

Where was her Jane?

* * *

 **I will admit, this chapter did not turn out the way I had originally planned. I may make adjustments to it some time in the future, but I simply wanted to post something to let you all know that yes, I am still here and yes, I fully intend to finish this.**

 **There's still a long road ahead, and I thank you for joining me for the ride.**


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